Portraiture & Fine Art
This section honors the fine art traditions Black dandyism is rooted in and reinvented by. Through portraiture, painting, collage, and mixed media, artists capture the elegance, eccentricity, and political power of self-presentation. These works are more than aesthetics, they serve are declarations of style as resistance, imagination as inheritance, and beauty as a birthright.
Artist: Brittany Moná (Moh-Nay) (She/They)
Title: “My Mama And Her Girlfriends”
Medium: Analog Collage, hand cut from magazines
Year: 2025
IG Handle: @Brittanymonacreates
Description: A tribute to the sacred sisterhood shared among Black women.
Artist Bio:
Brittany Moná is a multidisciplinary artist based in Maryland, specializing in abstract portraiture that explores and celebrates the complexity of the Black diaspora. Their work celebrates the complexity of the Black Diaspora.
Collection/Ownership: Artist's private collection (as of 2025)
Visual Description:
Three Black women stand confidently, styled in jumpsuits and playful color-blocked outfits. They pose against a lush and symbolic collage backdrop, vibrant fruit, flowers, books, stacked images, and ancestral photography layered throughout. A framed photo of another trio (possibly from the 1950s or 60s) sits at their feet, visually linking past and present sisterhood. A cutout text in the collage reads “Dare To Be You,” reinforcing the themes of joy, self-expression, and belonging.
Thematic Significance:
This piece functions as both visual archive and speculative memory. It weaves the everyday beauty of Black girl/womanhood with Afro-surrealist visual language. The outfits and confident poses reflect Black dandy aesthetics, tailored, intentional, and full of flair while the vintage photo nods to the intergenerational transmission of style, confidence, and care.
Title: I Am Not Your Negro
Artist: Bisa Butler
Year: 2019
Medium: Quilted and appliquéd cotton, wool, and chiffon
Dimensions: Approx. 78 x 58 inches
Collection: Private Collection
Exhibition History: This work has been exhibited as part of Butler’s major solo shows, including “Bisa Butler: Portraits” at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art.
Visual Description:
A seated Black man in a vibrant suit—crafted from African wax prints, plaids, and ornate patterns—rests his face on one hand in a contemplative pose. His jacket is neon-laced green and blue, pants a rich tapestry of orange, purple, and red, while a tilted fedora rests beside him. The pink background echoes a classic damask pattern, reinterpreted through Butler’s textile artistry.
Contextual Significance:
This piece is a tribute to the dignity, beauty, and defiant style of Black men often erased or flattened in dominant narratives. Titled after James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript *Remember This House*—adapted into the 2016 documentary *I Am Not Your Negro*—Butler’s portrait reclaims space, refusing caricature and insisting on complexity.
Artist Bio:
Bisa Butler is a contemporary African American artist known for her vivid textile portraits. Working primarily with fabric, she reimagines Black photographic archives into large-scale quilts that bridge fine art and craft, paying homage to African American life, resistance, and fashion.
IG Handle: @bisabutler
Title: Dandy Chic Illustration
Artist: Hayden Williams
Date: April 2025
Medium: Digital Illustration
Dimensions: Not applicable (digital artwork)
Source: Hayden Williams (@hayden_williams) on Instagram
Rights: All rights reserved to the artist
Visual Description:
This striking digital fashion illustration features a glamorous Black woman styled in exaggerated dandy flair. She wears a structured velvet teal blazer with sharp lapels, paired with wide-legged plaid trousers and a bold red hat with a feather. A sweeping brocade-lined cape and a cane add dramatic effect, blending maximalism with regal confidence.
Cultural Context:
Hayden Williams’ fashion illustrations often celebrate Black femininity, elegance, and fantasy. This piece evokes the aesthetic of the Black dandy, reimagined with high-fashion glamour. The look’s bold tailoring, rich fabrics, and accessorized extravagance channel the tradition of sartorial rebellion that Black dandies have long embodied.
Impact:
Williams’ work brings Black fashion fantasy into the digital age, reclaiming visual space and agency through character design. The hyper-stylized image reminds us that Black dandyism isn’t just about what you wear, it’s about daring to be seen, admired, and unapologetically fabulous.
Artist: Frederick Douglass by Bisa Butler
Title: The Storm, the Whirlwind, and the Earthquake
Year: 2020
Medium: Quilted and appliquéd cotton, wool, and chiffon
Dimensions: 108 x 72 inches
Collection: The Art Institute of Chicago
Description: In this vibrant portrait quilt, Bisa Butler reimagines Frederick Douglass as a modern-day icon of resistance, dignity, and self-possession. Drawing on African textiles and intricate quilting techniques, Butler pays tribute to Douglass’s strategic use of portraiture to craft a radical Black visual identity. The title references Douglass’s fiery speech calling for abolition through action, and the work fuses bold color, historical symbolism, and textured fabrics to convey the urgency and legacy of Black liberation movements.