Elizabeth Catlett

Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an American and Mexican sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of formerly enslaved people. It was difficult for a black woman then to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she settled and worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up the former.

Her work is a mixture of abstract and figurative in the Modernist tradition, with influence from African and Mexican art traditions. Catlett's work can be described as social realism because of her dedication to the issues and experiences of African Americans. According to the artist, the primary purpose of her work is to convey social messages rather than pure aesthetics. Her work is heavily studied by art students who want to depict race, gender, and class issues. During her lifetime, Catlett received many awards and recognitions, including membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, the Art Institute of Chicago Legends and Legacy Award, honorary doctorates from Pace University and Carnegie Mellon, and the International Sculpture Center's Lifetime Achievement Award in contemporary sculpture.

Early life Catlett was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Both of her parents were the children of formerly enslaved people; her grandmother told her stories about the capture of their people in Africa and the hardships of plantation life. Catlett was the youngest of three children. Her parents worked in education; her mother was an attendance officer; her father taught math at Tuskegee University, then the D.C. public school system. Her father died before she was born, leaving her mother to hold several jobs to support the household.

Education Catlett completed her undergraduate studies at Howard University, graduating cum laude, although it was not her first choice. She was also admitted into the Carnegie Institute of Technology but was refused admission when the school discovered she was black.

At Howard University, Catlett's professors included artist Lois Mailou Jones and philosopher Alain Locke. Her tuition was paid for by her mother's savings and scholarships that the artist earned, and she graduated with honors in 1937. as well as sculpture with Harry Edward Stinson. Wood advised her to depict images of what she knew best, so Catlett began sculpting images of African-American women and children. However, despite being accepted to the school, she was not permitted to stay in the dormitories; therefore, she rented a room off-campus. In 1942, the couple moved to New York, where Catlett taught adult education classes at the George Washington Carver School in Harlem. She also studied lithography at the Art Students League of New York; she received private instruction from Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine, In 1948, she entered the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" to study wood sculpture with José L. Ruíz and ceramic sculpture with Francisco Zúñiga. Catlett donated this money to the University of Iowa Foundation to fund the Elizabeth Catlett Mora Scholarship Fund, which supports African-American and Latino students studying printmaking.

Activism Catlett worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP) from 1946 until 1966. However, because some of the members were also Communist party members, and because of her activism regarding a railroad strike in Mexico City leading to an arrest in 1949, Catlett came under surveillance by the United States Embassy. Eventually, she was barred from entering the United States and declared an "undesirable alien". She was unable to return home to visit her ill mother before she died.

When she moved to Mexico, Catlett's first work as an artist was with the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), a famous workshop in Mexico City dedicated to graphic arts promoting leftist political causes, social issues, and education. At the TGP, she and other artists created a series of linoleum cuts featuring prominent black figures, as well as posters, leaflets, illustrations for textbooks, and materials to promote literacy in Mexico. Sharecropper, one of the linoleum cuts made at the TGP, is possibly her most famous work and is an excellent example of Catlett's bold visual style due to both the crisp black lines and rich brown and green inks of the drawing, and the halo of the hat brim and the upward looking angle of the composition making the figure monumental, or someone to be venerated, despite the poverty evidenced by the safety pin holding together the cloak. Catlett's immersion into the TGP was crucial for her appreciation and comprehension of the signification of "mestizaje", a blending of Indigenous, Spanish and African antecedents in Mexico, which was a parallel reality to African-American experiences. She remained with the workshop for twenty years, leaving in 1966. Her posters of Harriet Tubman, Angela Davis, Malcolm X and other figures were widely distributed. and the 2011 individual show at the Bronx Museum. The last of her exhibitions that Catlett attended was in May 2009 at the University of Louisville's Cressman Center, organized by E&S Gallery. From 1993 to 2009, her work was regularly on display at the June Kelly Gallery.

The Legacy Museum, which opened on April 26, 2018, displays and dramatizes the history of slavery and racism in America and features artwork by Catlett and others. In 2023/2024, the Museum for Modern Art in Frankfurt showed the first comprehensive exhibition of Elizabeth Catlett's work.

Awards and recognition During her lifetime, Catlett received numerous awards and recognitions. induction into the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana in 1956, By the end of her career, her works, especially her sculptures, sold for tens of thousands of dollars. The Philadelphia Museum of Art featured Catlett in an online exhibition.

Carnegie Mellon University, the school that denied her entrance in 1931 based on her race, went on to bestow her with an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree in 2008.

Built in 2017, the University of Iowa's Catlett Residence Hall is named after her, as one of the first three individuals and the first Black woman to graduate with an MFA from there.

From September 13, 2024, to January 19, 2025, the Brooklyn Museum hosted a retrospective "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies" of her works. The show (retitled "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist") was at the National Gallery of Art in March 9-July 6, 2025. The show travelled to the Art Institute of Chicago (as "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies" August 30, 2025-January 4, 2026. The catalog "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies" edited by Dalila Scruggs, accompanies the exhibit.

Legacy In 2017, Catlett's alma mater, the University of Iowa, opened a new residence hall bearing her name.

Artistry

Catlett is recognized primarily for sculpting and print work. Many young artists study her work as a model for themes relating to gender, race, and class, but she is relatively unknown to the general public. Her best-known works depict black women as strong and maternal.

Artist statements

"Art for me must develop from a necessity within my people. It must answer a question, or wake somebody up, or give a shove in the right direction — our liberation."

Works This is a list of Catlett's selected works. Students Aspire (1977), Howard University campus, 2300 6th Street NW, Washington, D.C. For My People portfolio (published 1992), by Limited Editions Club, New York Ralph Ellison Memorial (2002), 150th Street and Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York Reclining Female Nude (1955), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Torso (1985), is a carving in mahogany modeled after another of Catlett's pieces, Pensive (b. 1946) a bronze sculpture. The mahogany carving is in the York College, CUNY Fine Art Collection (dimensions: 35' H x 19' W x 16' D). The exaggerated arms and breasts are prominent features of this piece. The crossed arms are broad, with simple geometric shapes and ripples to indicate a shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a gentle ridge along the neck. The hands are carved larger than what would be in proportion to the torso. The figure's eyes are painted with a calm yet steady gaze that signifies confidence. Catlett evokes a strong, working-class black woman like the other pieces she created to portray women's empowerment through expressive poses. Catlett favored materials such as cedar and mahogany because these materials naturally depict brown skin.