At 101 years old, Carmen Herrera opened a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, focusing on her signature work from 1948 – 1978. Having painted for decades, it was only recently that her art work was truly recognized, a style that combines abstract expressionism and minimalism.

There’s a lot to be taken away from Herrera’s work, not just from the recent fame and recognition of her fantastic art work, but also her commitment to her craft, her style and her work ethic. As she tells the New York Times in 2009, “I do it because I have to do it; it’s a compulsion that also gives me pleasure. I never in my life had any idea of money and I thought fame was a very vulgar thing. So I just worked and waited. And at the end of my life, I’m getting a lot of recognition, to my amazement and my pleasure, actually.”

Read More about Carmen Herrera and her exhibition “Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sights”