Cuban Painter Carmen Herrera sold her first painting at age 89, after nearly seventy years of making art. By age 101 she saw her work collected by the Tate Modern, Whitney, MoMA and the Walker Art Center. Recently, she has been the focus of numerous articles about the discovery of a great talent that was hiding in plain sight, or rather, NOT seen, because she was a woman in a male-dominated field. We recommend profiles in the Guardian and the New York Times, and a short documentary called, The 100 Years Show.
Wheelchair bound, Herrera continues to plan drawings that she makes with the help of a trusted assistant’s hands and eyes. When asked why she kept going all the years living in obscurity she said:
I do it because I have to. I have my ideas. I do my drawings. I make my paintings. It’s my love of the straight line that keeps me going. This has not changed…
…I thought maybe the market would be corrupting. Without commercial success you can do what you want to do. There is freedom to be working alone. But, oh, when my work began to sell! I thought, Damn it, it’s about time
We’ve seen pictures of her spanning her life, from fierce beauty…
….
…to mature woman…
…to ancient…
What strikes us most is her hands. Although aged, they seem to defy age completely because they are so actively involved in creating beauty, still.
Like all true creatives:
I do it because I have to.
With thanks to Ellen Silverman.
