Calida Rawles’s hyperrealistic paintings depict Black people submerged in water, swimming, or floating. For Rawles, giving one’s body over to water represents the ultimate form of surrender—one she came to later in life.
Rawles grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, where she charged a nickel or a quarter to create drawings for classmates. In the summer, she would walk to her neighborhood pool, but only to play in the