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93-year-old artist prepares for first solo show
Imagine being an artist for most of your life, and then finally, at 93-years-old, having your first solo exhibition. Well, it's happening to artist and activist Nancy Brandon. FOX 5 NY's Jennifer Williams has the story.
NEW YORK CITY - At 93 years old — Nancy Brandon was honored with her first-ever solo art show in NYC—the city she was born and raised in.
The exhibition entitled, "The Accidental Artist – Joy & Cohesion in Black Life," opened to the public in early March.
"I try to show the beauty of color, of blackness, of blending," Upper West Side artist Nancy Brandon said.
While Brandon herself felt defined by race and color—one piece, entitled: "Homage to Sammy & Leon and Others like them" tells of the beauty—and struggles of the LGBTQ community.
"We knew it they knew it, and finally the world caught up—so it’s kind of my homage to those people I knew and loved," Brandon said.
The long-time fixture of the Upper West Side is self-taught—first picking up a paintbrush in 1960.
"I love the work Gustav Klimt, I love Klimt," Brandon added. "I love Picasso and I think my favorite of all of them is Matisse."
Her work ranges from $500 to $1500 and over 20 pieces have already sold.
"Whatever you do if they’re doing it from here [points to heart] or from wherever—that it has some worth… that goes for a scribble that a little kid is doing to someone as old as I am," Brandon said.
The exhibit runs through April 15 at the Goddard Riverside Bernie Wohl Center on Columbus Ave between 91st and 92nd.
She’s one of the artists featured in the 9th annual W.H.A.M. Women’s History Artist Month Festival.