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Elizabeth Catlett
Artist

Elizabeth Catlett

Famoose for

Portraying Black women’s lives through sculpture and printmaking.

Mother and Child · Sharecropper

Born
15 April 1915
Birthplace
Washington, D.C.
Died
2 April 2012

More people

Leonardo da VinciPainting the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.Frida KahloPainting self-portraits about identity, pain and Mexican life.Vincent van GoghPainting The Starry Night and Sunflowers.

Elizabeth Catlett

Elizabeth Catlett was an American-born Mexican artist. Her socially engaged work brought African American experience into dialogue with Mexican artistic traditions.

Early life

Washington, D.C.

Grew up in an education-minded family descended from formerly enslaved people.

Career

  1. 1946

    Mexico

    A fellowship enabled her move to Mexico City.

  2. Mid-century

    Print workshop

    Worked with Taller de Gráfica Popular.

  3. Later career

    Teaching sculpture

    Led sculpture at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas.

Selected work

Mother and Child

Her thesis sculpture received first prize at the American Negro Exposition in 1940.

Sharecropper

A linocut portrait honouring the endurance of a Black agricultural worker.

Beyond work

Teaching

Devoted a substantial part of her career to art education.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical data and references ↗The Met: Sharecropper ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Creator not stated; see image source. Copyrighted image; source credit retained · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.