Henrietta Lacks' Lasting Impact Detailed In New Portrait

"When Henrietta Lacks was dying of cancer in 1951, her cells were harvested without her knowledge. They became crucial to scientific research and her story became a best-seller. Since then, Lacks has become one of the most powerful symbols for informed consent in the history of science. When the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., honored Lacks by installing a painting of her just inside one of its main entrances, three of Lacks' grandchildren were there. The artist, Kadir Nelson, painted Lacks standing in front of a wall covered with blue and purple hexagons."A pattern that almost looks like wallpaper, but it's actually representative of her cells," said Dorothy Moss, a National Portrait Gallery curator."