Edward Wadie Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University. His last book, "On Late Style," looks at the creative contradictions that often mark the late works of literary and musical artists. Said shows how the approaching death of an artist can make its way into their work. He uncovers the conflicts and complexity that often distinguish artistic lateness, resulting in works that stood in direct contrast to what was popular at the time.

It's 2022 and I'm almost 89. It would seem that I've been trying to paint my entire Life. I now paint every day (except for an accident on the stairs this past Summer that put me in a wheelchair but only temporarily) and cannot predict what will emerge but I do know this. At this age yes, I am tyrannized by time yet when I work at the easel, I am energized with a sense of timelessness. These portraits are ultimately about relationships - something I never felt I was particularly good at. Relationships with others and with myself. A lot of self-portraits, self scrutiny. There are truths I am digging at. Who knows, I might get some answers.