The Portrait of Maya meets the viewer with a direct gaze and an assured, expansive pose. Pattern, photographic fragments, and sparkling surfaces surround her, giving this intimate portrait a presence that extends beyond its scale. Metallic shimmer and glitter catch the light across the composition, bringing movement to the printed surface.

Mickalene Thomas works across painting, collage, photography, film, and installation, placing Black women at the centre of images concerned with beauty, sexuality, and power. This portrait draws on a photograph Thomas took of Maya, her former muse and partner, in the New York apartment they once shared. Its personal origins remain central to the work’s confidence and sense of closeness.

Published by Avant Arte in 2024 in support of The Broad museum, the edition translates the embellished original into a richly layered print. UV pigment printing is combined with four metallic silkscreen glitter and shimmer layers, a CMYK silkscreen central panel, and a matte varnish seal on heavyweight Somerset paper.

Signed, dated, and numbered by Thomas, the work comes from an edition of 732. Emerald Room’s impression was acquired from the original source and retains its original documentation.