Lot Essay
According to Proctor, she was called to 'get a door and paint' after a thirty day fast following the deaths of her grandmother, aunt and uncle in a fire. Inspired by the sayings of her grandmother, Proctor painted a number of doors throughout 1995 and 1996 (Told by Mary Proctor, "I Believe in My Mission," Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art, Vol.2, William Arnett and Paul Arnett, eds. (Atlanta, 2001), pp. 452-453).