William Y. Cooper (1934-2016)

Cooper was heavily inspired by music and rarely painted without it. Four Women combines this influence with his appreciation for Black women. It is an interpretation of the 1966 Nina Simone song Four Women, in which Simone describes four Black female stereotypes victimized and overlooked by society:

Aunt Sarah is described as strong with black skin, woolly hair, and a strong back that is “strong enough to take the pain/ Inflicted again and again.”

Saffronia is a product of sexual violence inflicted on her mother by her white father.   Having yellow skin with long hair, she is caught between two worlds.

Sweet Thing represents the Jezebel archetype, with tan skin and fine hair. Universally accepted because of the sexual gratification she provides, Simone sings, “Whose little girl am I?/ Anyone who has money to buy.”

Lastly, Peaches is described as brown skin, tough, and embittered “because [her] parents were slaves.” With her endures the generational trauma of oppression and racism. 

The song and painting emphasize the struggles Black women have historically faced, rooted in stereotypes persisting since slavery. Upholding the nuance of their lived experiences, Cooper juxtaposes this reality with more sensual works like the Feminine Unmasked series.