4 x 4 in. watercolor on paper enclosed in a 11 x 14 in. custom frame with museum quality glass.

She was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. She earned the moniker ‘High Priestess of Soul’ for she could weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that the listener lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment. She was who the world would come to know as Nina Simone.

Her music during the 1960s saw her become a pivotal figure in the civil rights movement, her songs reflecting the turbulent times and giving voice to the pain and hopes of black Americans. Simone's move into political songwriting had been triggered by the shocking murder of four young black girls attending Sunday school in Birmingham, Alabama, which was bombed by white extremists in September 1963. The song Four Women, written in 1966, portrayed the struggles and resilience of black women in the US, while 1969's To Be Young, Gifted, and Black was a message to young people to take pride and joy in their identity and potential. That song was dedicated to the memory of her friend, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the first black American female author to have a play performed on Broadway.