The Ray Parker paintings at the San Francisco Museum of Art look like history. They are “then” not “now.” Marcel Duchamp was right when he said the life span of a painting is twenty-five years; after that it becomes something else, an item for history. Duchamp was right but the span is shortening. For many this is a painful remark, too painful for most to consider and many to digest.

Parker’s position is particularly relevant in this case. As little as seven years ago Parker’s work appeared like a shot in the dark. His personal commitment to a single idea, i.e., the brushy rendering of large