This portrait by Mickalene Thomas shows a collaged image of Racquel Chevremont, Thomas’s life partner, who is a frequent subject in her work. Part photograph, part painting, part drawing, part multi-media collage, the image shows a multitudinous personage who all at once projects serenity, contemplation, confidence and beauty. The intimate expression on Racquel's face is one of concentration and melancholy—this is a person who is seen, and who sees herself, in many different ways simultaneously. This sort of intimacy is at the heart of Thomas' practice, which is based on a desire to expand the existing world of images that exist of Black, female beauty. Says Thomas, "It’s about me waiting to see myself and claim spaces that have been void for so long...so that when little girls go to museums they can look up and see themselves."