Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (British, b. 1977) is a figurative oil painter whose work depicts people against dark, muted backgrounds, often isolated but sometimes in groups. She has described her work as fictional, with her chosen subjects existing outside of time or place, and offer few clues about themselves. Her work is executed in quick, loose brushstrokes, and she cites Contemporary artists Lisa Yuskavage, Chris Offili, and Isaac Julien as influences.

Born and raised in London by Ghanian parents, Yiadom-Boakye studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Falmouth College of Arts, and received her MA from the Royal Academy Schools in 2003. Her first solo exhibition was titled Essays and Documents and was held at Jack Shainman Gallery in 2010. Since then, her work has been exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery in London (2015), the Venice Biennale (2013), the New Museum in New York (2012), the Biennale de Lyon in France (2011), The Studio Museum in Harlem in New York (2008), and many others. Yiadom-Boakye has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 2012 Pinchuk Foundation Future Generation Prize, and was listed as a finalist for Turner Prize in 2013. Her work has been collected by many institutions, which include the Tate Collection, London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.