Angela Bassett hit the 2026 Met Gala red carpet, outfitted in a splendid rosy pink gown accented with floral appliqué and intricate beading that cascaded from her hip line to the Museum floor. The gown, designed by Prabal Gurung, paid homage to Laura Wheeler Waring, a prolific portrait artist who painted during the Harlem Renaissance. Waring’s most notable painting, “Girl In A Pink Dress,” is the source of inspiration for Bassett’s “Fashion is Art” attire, which is on
par with “Costume Art,” the theme for this year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala. Bassett is keeping Waring’s legacy alive. By referencing “Girl In A Pink Dress,” Bassett didn’t just wear a gown—she wore history.During the Harlem Renaissance, Waring painted African Americans, placing emphasis on Black dignity and prestige. As well, Waring’s subjects included the most prominent Black individuals of that era: W.E.B Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, and opera singer Marion Anderson, whose portrait towers over six feet and is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.
In 2024, Waring’s work was revisited in the museum’s historic exhibition, The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, curated by Denise Murrell. A standout artwork from that show is Waring’s “Girl In A Pink Dress,” an oil on canvas painted circa 1927. The MET store currently sells custom prints ranging from $30 to $125, depending on size and dimensions.
Bassett, 67, has a reputation for turning heads. At the 2025 Met Gala event, her look was all the rage. The Black Panther
actress popped out in a Superfine dandy get-up and topped it off with a bell hat and a cane. Albeit fictional, even Bassett’s Wakanda wear was jaw-dropping. And surely diehard Bassett fans would remember when the Waiting To Exhale star “did the thing” for her role in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Basset stunned audiences with box braids, defined biceps, and a sculpted physique as she played opposite Taye Diggs in the 1990s romance film.In April, Bassett was an honoree at BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 2026 Women of Power Summit.
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