Born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Kerry James Marshall developed his artistic practice with a focus on the complexities of the Black experience. He honed his craft through formal education and eventually settled in Chicago, where he served as a professor at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago for many years.

Marshall is best known for his mastery of figurative painting, utilizing a distinctively dark, almost monochromatic palette to reclaim space for Black identity within the canon of art history. His compositions frequently integrate elements of social history, folklore, and domestic life, rendered with a sophisticated command of classical painting techniques.

His work has garnered significant international acclaim, leading to major museum retrospectives and his inclusion on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2017. His contributions to contemporary painting continue to be a focal point of scholarly study and institutional exhibition.