The Smithsonian has commissioned a new, large-scale portrait that is made of sand and soil for the National Mall.

On Wednesday, the institute announced that it had tapped urban artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada to create the portrait that will span over six acres on the property.

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The Cuban-American artist's piece, titled "Out of Many, One," will be a composite portrait of people who were photographed in Washington. The title means "E pluribus unum" in Latin.

Rodriguez-Gerada's piece is expected to be installed in September, but it will be open for public viewing starting October. The portrait will be situated between the World War II and Lincoln memorials, and will take an estimated 2,000 tons of sand and 800 tons of soil.

The Cuban American artist is known for his many large-scale "facescapes." His work for the Smithsonian is the first that will be placed on United States soil.

Meanwhile, the Smithsonian also announced that it is expanding its collection of artifacts that document the history of sexual orientation in the United States.

The expansion kicked off after props and memorabilia from the popular television series, "Will and Grace," were donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Also included in the expanded collection is the diplomatic passport of David Huebner, who is the first openly gay U.S. ambassador, along with that of his husband, Duane McWaine.

A racquet that was once owned by Renee Richards, a transgender tennis player, is also included in the Smithsonian collection.

In a statement, the museum said that the recent additions to its collection marked a great progress in its tradition of documenting the American culture, stressing that "the LGBT narrative is an important part of that American story."

TagsNews, Culture, Smithsonian, portrait, National Mall, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, facescape, LGBT, artifacts, Will and Grace