Artist Quote: “Art is only important to the extent that it aids in the liberation of our people.” Achievements: During the past 40 years, museums and galleries have held more than 50 solo exhibitions of Catlett’s sculptures and prints, including important retrospectives in 1993 and 1998. Highest Sold Work: Catlett’s Seated Woman (1962) sold for $389,000 in 2019. | Name: Elizabeth Catlett Born: 1915 in Washington D.C. Main Medium: Printmaking, Sculpture Art Movement: Modern Art, Harlem Renaissance About the Artist: As a young girl she knew she wanted to be an artist, though few African American women were practicing artists and art museums in the South were closed to African Americans. In Chicago, Catlett experienced for the first time a community of socially engaged and politically active artists who were committed to producing art for social change. She graduated with honors from Howard University in 1935 and went on to earn the first Masters in Fine Art in Sculpture at the University of Iowa five years later. Catlett taught at the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City from 1958 until her retirement in 1976. About the Artwork: She dedicated herself to making art primarily for African American – and later Mexican – audiences, determined to give voice to the enduring dignity, strength, and achievements of black women and other oppressed peoples. |
Sources:
https://nmwa.org/art/artists/elizabeth-catlett/
https://www.elizabethcatlettart.com/bio
https://nmwa.org/art/artists/elizabeth-catlett/
https://www.elizabethcatlettart.com/bio