Portrait of Willie Mae Ford Smith is from a selection called “Our History, Our Pride” a series of collage and mixed media sketches on canvas based on figures in Black history. Each portrait is 20” x 20” unframed on gallery canvas (does not require framing). Can be hung as is or can be framed.

A bit of history: Apparently coming to national attention after an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith’s singing is part of our national heritage, it's American history -- uplifting, positive, comforting and asks the questions. What a singer. What a ministry she has left behind. She was born on June 23, 1904 and found her musical calling in the church. She learned by ear and became one of the four Ford Sisters, formed by her father. She is known to have said, “They were more like the spiritual version of the Mills Brothers!” She became director of the Soloists Bureau of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1936 and was one of the first to sing in the blues-influenced gospel style of Thomas A. Dorsey in the '20s and '30s. It would be worth your while and be a blessing to you to listen to her music.