In addition to Michelle Obama, Sprung has painted portraits of a number of well-known people, including official portraits of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, as well as portraits of college and university presidents, including those of Columbia, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Learn more about the Portraits of Bryn Mawr College Presidents | Curated by Talia Shiroma '19
To create the portrait, Sprung came to campus in October of 2024 and had Cassidy show her various places on campus, sitting and standing against various backdrops, in different clothing, and seeking the best light.
At each location, Sprung took photos and made notes of whatever she thought the camera couldn’t capture, at times taking out paints and mixing them to refer back to. She also chatted with Cassidy along the way, getting to know her and putting her at ease.
“I was taken with the quiet and the serenity of the college. And Kim is a very low-key person, so I was trying to capture some of that serenity,” says Sprung of the session.
Sprung returned to her Brooklyn studio with all she’d gathered that day, and in September of 2025 Robbins was invited to go to New York and view the work. While there, she took photos to send to Cassidy for final approval, which Cassidy enthusiastically gave.
“While at the start of this process I wasn't excited to have a portrait made, it was delightful to work with Sharon. Sharon took the time to get to know me and to understand the College, and I think that comes through in the finished work,” says Cassidy.
The portrait remained in Sprung’s studio until November of that year, and after about a nine-month stay with a framer in Philadelphia, the painting arrived on campus this August.
The portrait will be the first since James Rhoads in which the president isn’t wearing academic regalia, a decision Robbins sees as emblematic of Cassidy’s presidency.
From the spring 2024 Bulletin magazine
In Every Corner of Campus: Kim Cassidy’s Decade of Transformative Leadership
“Kim brought a fresh, sort of approachability to the presidency; she was open and always learning. She embraced joy as a lodestar for campus life. So, we thought about how we could signal that,” says Robbins.
“Serving as president of Bryn Mawr has been one of the great privileges of my life,” says Cassidy. “Whatever this portrait represents, I hope it reflects not just my time as president, but the community that makes this place what it is. I’m especially grateful to Carrie for thinking so carefully about how to tell that story.”
