MAYA ANGELOU (1928 - 2014) The Protector of Home and Family.
Oil on canvas board, 1969. 457x610 mm; 18x24 inches. Signed "Maya" in oil, lower right.
Provenance: the estate of Dr. Maya Angelou.
We beleive this remarkable painting is the first known visual art work by Dr. Maya Angelou to be publicly exhibited or offered for sale. According to an inscription on the verso, it was painted in the winter of 1969 shortly after her completion of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and evokes the same courageousness found in her acclaimed autobiography. Dr. Angelou's The Protector of Home and Family is painted with bold brush strokes, and confronts the viewer unflinchingly. This painting is a strong visual statement of African-American women's courage and strength - a determination to confront the oppression and threats that many faced during the late 1960s.
