Emma Amos, Baby, 1966

A postmodernist masterpiece by Emma Amos, the prodigious American painter who passed away three weeks ago. Amos was the sole female member of Spiral, the New York-based African-American collective formed in response to the 1963 March on Washington. Her dynamic figurative paintings drew on aspects of art history, current events and her own experiences to unfurl “[the] ugly histories of racism, sexism, class struggle and privilege”, in the words of ARTnews. Perhaps most captivating of all, however was Amos’ incredible command of colour, a facet of painting she viewed through a similarly political lens. “Every time I think about colour, it’s a political statement,” she once said. “It would be a luxury to be white and never have to think about it.”