NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — It’s not uncommon for fans to say that Barkley L. Hendricks’ vivid, stylish portraits of Black men and women may look “Instagrammable” — even though the paintings are 50 years old.

“They really did inspire so many of the artists who we’re seeing in museums today,” said Aimee Ng, a curator at the Frick Collection in Manhattan.

Hendricks, who was a professor at Connecticut College from 1972 to 2010, is the first artist of color to get a solo show at the Frick Collection in Manhattan. Hendricks, who died in 2017, also attended the Yale School of Art.

He died in 2017.

Painting in the wake of the Civil Rights movement, Hendricks was “really just doing his own thing,” according to Ng. But, the art world has finally caught up to him.

Watch the full interview in the player above.