Emboldened by thick lines and bright flashes of blues and yellows, the man stares fearlessly ahead with his right hand cocked on his hip and his left reaching around his entire head, striking a pose. His struts his flexed yet fatty leg forward, daring us closer. His fleshy, almost-in-shape physique commands our attention towards his shocking sensuality. RB Kitaj’s “The Sensualist” evokes Kitaj’s signature expressionist blend of vibrancy and emotional depth. The Yale University Art Gallary, however, will not acquire this work at auction this year. The gallery currently holds none of Kitaj’s work because he never achieved the same critical acclaim as other white, late 20th-century male figurative painters like Chuck Close and Jack Levine. The museum cannot highlight an artist who was not even good enough to earn the acclaim of esteemed art critics. While the work seems compelling, the artist did not meet the threshold of fame required by our world-renowned institution.