Sherald continues her tradition of painting Black Americans in scenes of leisure and stillness—“the things I wish to see,” she notes—with five new portraits that reveal her subjects’ whole humanity. Each painting reinforces the idea that Black life and identity aren’t solely tethered to grappling publicly with social issues, and that resistance also lies in a full interior life. She often employs visual cues from Americana, such as the Barbie logo, fashion denim, surfboards, picket fences, and convertibles, that reinforce Black Americans’ irrefutable connection to the nation’s historic and cultural fabric.