Building on this, Taylor’s work can be divided into ‘two major strands—the first made up of works from life’ and ‘the other … concern[ing] a larger, shared American history.’ [1] ‘Untitled’ draws those strands together, simultaneously a tribute to the artist’s older brother, Randy—a former active member of the Black Panther Party in Ventura, California—and to a larger collective of people and voices. One of Taylor’s most explicitly political works, its merging of references both historic and contemporary embodies Zadie Smith’s understanding of Taylor’s work as a metaphor for Black history ‘the way Black people actually experience it: as simultaneous change and stasis, revolution and stagnation, one step forwards, two steps back.’ [2] In this way, it recalls the title of one of Taylor’s most famous paintings, ‘THE TIMES THAY AINT A CHANGING, FAST ENOUGH!’ (2017), now held in the collection of The Whitney Museum of American Art: an arresting portrait of Philando Castile, the 32-year-old African-American man who was killed by a police offer during a traffic stop in 2016. A striking visual synthesis of past and present, ‘Untitled’ is a powerful testament to the ongoing fight for racial equality.

Over the course of his four-decade-long career, Taylor has produced compelling visual biographies and complex records of individuals and communities, guided by a defining sense of human connection. ‘Untitled’ is an outstanding example of the way in which he, through his work, has constructed an intimate, defiant and empathetic image of his community and testifies to Taylor’s importance in the ever-evolving tapestry of American art.

_{[1] M. H. Miller, ‘The Greats. Henry Taylor,’ T Magazine, 16 October 2022, accessed online.}

_{[2] Zadie Smith, ‘Henry Taylor’s Promiscuous Painting,’ The New Yorker, 23 July 2018, accessed online.}