Born in Stedman, South Carolina, in 1911, Inez Nathaniel Walker joined the African American migration to the North in the 1930s. She eventually settled in rural New York, where she worked in an apple processing plant. Like many other self-taught artists, Walker turned to artmaking after a traumatic experience: she began to draw in the late 1960s or early 1970s while in prison for the manslaughter of an abusive male friend. To escape the loneliness and monotony of prison life, Walker drew numerous portraits of fashionably dressed and meticulously groomed men and women. After her release in 1972, Walker further developed her distinctive style, which is characterized by bold draftsmanship and inventive patterning.

Portrait of a Woman with Afro and Hat displays Walker’s characteristic use of line and pattern. Here Walker boldly outlines the figure and uses a pattern of pale curving parallels to emphasize this dynamic woman’s intense expression. Pale parallel lines also suggest the contours of the woman’s figure, the details of her dress, and the construction of her extraordinary hat. Patterning reappears in the woman’s facial features: her teeth are a grid, and dense eyelashes surround the enormous eyes, each lash curled in the same direction. Walker reserved the most exuberant patterning for the woman’s hair, which is arranged in a 1970s natural hairstyle that asserts “black is beautiful”; the tight curls are textured by layers of violet-colored pencil and dark brown marker over graphite. The patterns contrast with the softness of the woman’s skin, which is evenly colored in crayon. The frontality of the figure and the intense gaze make for an arresting and engaging portrait.

Cheryl Rivers, "Portrait of a Woman with Afro and Hat," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 386.