Man in Profile

Description

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Inez Nathaniel Walker eventually moved to Port Byron, New York, working as a migrant farm worker for most of her life. In 1970, she was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide sent to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, where she began to draw. After being released, Walker returned to Port Byron.
During her career, Walker primarily painted portraits of women. In most of her work, she is not concerned with the use of realistic colors or body proportions. Man in Profile, a rare subject for Walker, depicts the subject with an unrealistic frontal eye and finely detailed hair and clothing. Typical of her work, however, the background mimics an element on the man’s clothing, his buttons.
Lindsay Meehan
Modern and Contemporary Art Intern
2002