The portraits were part of an exhibition in which his paintings only depicted women, rather than the young African-American men he would scout on the street and depict in poses seen in classical European artwork. The sitter for Judith was Triesha Lowe, a stay-at-home mother whom Wiley discovered in a Brooklyn shopping centre.
The description for the work from the North Carolina Museum of Art foundation reads: “Wiley translates this image of a courageous, powerful woman into a contemporary version that resonates with fury and righteousness.”
