Kerry James Marshall is a contemporary painter whose work explores the complex effects of the Civil Rights movement on the everyday life on African Americans. Through narrative scenes that draw both from history and the artist’s own life, Marshall delves into obscure moments and objects important to contemporary and past black culture. His work is likewise concerned with the tradition of Western painting, and the notion of mastery, authorship, and the erasure of black bodies throughout art history. Like Kara Walker, Marshall often exaggerates the color of the people in his work making them as black as the pigment will allow, drawing more attention to the surrounding color and content of his paintings. Born on October 17, 1955 in Birmingham...