Gloria Jean with Her Old Man and Sally Brown, a Friend Lady 1987

Georgia Speller made "Gloria Jean with Her Old Man and Sally Brown, a Friend Lady" on paper with paint. This boldly rendered composition presents a social tableau. The figures are presented frontally, almost like puppets on a stage. Speller’s work is characterized by a unique and compelling visual language. The images could be seen to challenge conventional representations of the human form. Made in the United States during a period of significant social and cultural change, it’s likely that Speller, as an African American woman, was responding to the politics of race, gender, and sexuality that shaped her lived experience. Her work might be read as a form of resistance against the normative gaze of the art world. As historians, we must consider the context in which art is created and the ways in which it reflects and comments on the social structures of its time. By studying the artist's biography, the cultural and political climate, and the artistic conventions of the period, we can gain a deeper understanding of the meaning and significance of the work.