Original Painting by Anu Redway

Price: $1,800 Size: 32” x 32” Medium: Acrylic and mixed media on canvas Year: 2021–2023 Availability: Original available

Pretty for a Dark Skin confronts the painful language often aimed at dark-skinned Black women. It is both a portrait and a challenge. A declaration that beauty does not need to be qualified, explained, softened, or compared.

The Story Behind the Piece

“What a disgusting phrase, right?”

The phrase “pretty for a Black girl” is deeply offensive, and unfortunately, it is something I have heard directed at me more than once. Many darker-skinned Black women have similar stories. Sometimes the words are said directly. Sometimes they come dressed up as compliments. Either way, they carry the same message: that darker skin is something to look past instead of something to honor.

I have also heard comments like, “I normally don’t date Black girls, but you’re not like that Black.” As someone from Africa, that kind of statement has always felt especially strange to me. What does it mean to not be “that Black”? And why should Blackness have to be edited down to be accepted?

This painting brings attention to the poisonous ideas that still shape how beauty is discussed, especially for dark-skinned women. The figure is surrounded by discriminatory phrases commonly directed at Black women. Some come from my own experiences. Some come from the experiences of other Black women.

The piece invites the viewer to sit with the discomfort. Have you heard phrases like these? Have you said them? Have you believed them?

And more importantly, what would it look like to celebrate dark skin without condition?

Artwork Details

• Original artwork: Yes

• Surface: Canvas

• Medium: Acrylic and mixed media

• Signed: Front 

• Ready to hang: Framing recommended

• Best suited for: Statement wall, collection wall, gallery space, creative studio, or space centered on identity and conversation