Born in LA, living and working in New York, Kehinde Wiley is famous for his realistic portraits of men of mostly African and African-American origin. The theatrical poses and objects in his portraits are based on well-known images of powerful figures drawn from seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Western art whose authority Wiley gives to his twenty-first-century subjects. Initially, Wiley’s portraits were based on photographs taken of young men found on the streets of Harlem. As his practice grew, his eye led him toward an international view, including models found in urban landscapes throughout the world – such as Mumbai, Senegal, Dakar and Rio de Janeiro, among others – accumulating to a vast body of work called, “The World Stage.” In October 2011, Wiley received the Artist of the Year Award from the New York City Art Teachers Association/United Federation of Teachers. He also received Canteen Magazine’s Artist of the Year Award.