The painting is called "Lawdy Mama," Barkley L. Hendricks' portrait of his cousin, Kathy Williams. He used gold leaf in the work, inspired by Byzantine and early Renaissance paintings.

The work is part of an exhibition called "Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick." The works, which date back to the 1960s, spotlight various people in the artist’s life, like his wife Susan, but also people he would meet, whether in his native Philadelphia or during his travels.

“He totally revolutionized what portraiture looked like in America, because he was combining old master European painting styles with contemporary people in his life, predominantly Black figures,” said Aimee Ng, the Frick Madison curator who organized the exhibition of 14 early works from Hendricks with consulting curator Antwaun Sargent.

“You never forget that there was a person who lived, who stood in front of him, and who he captured with his camera and then with his paint,” Ng added.

Ng says the Frick, famous for its collection of European art, was Hendricks’ favorite museum. She noted that the pioneering American artist, who passed away in 2017, wasn’t particularly popular at the time that he was painting.

“That isn’t what American audiences particularly wanted to see, this union of the legacies of European art history with contemporary Black figures, those two at that time were kind of at odds in some cultural contexts, and so it wasn’t until decades later that some of the art world and the world caught up with what Barkley was trying to do. He was very independent at the time,” Ng said.

Now, visitors have a chance to see his work surrounded by many of the artists that influenced him. The exhibition is on view at Frick Madison through Jan. 7.