Corita Kent was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1938 and taught in Los Angeles at the Immaculate Heart College.
Popularly known as "Sister Mary Corita," Kent's large compositions combine quotations, often from the Bible or modern poetry, with religious or secular images. During her career as an artist and teacher, Kent also designed greeting cards and book covers. She achieved fame in the early 1960s with her brightly colored silkscreen posters. Some of her work includes excerpts from the writings of Carl Jung, e.e. cummings, and Rainer Maria Rilke.
[This is an excerpt from the interactive companion program to the videodisc American Art from the National Gallery of Art. Produced by the Department of Education Resources, this teaching resource is one of the Gallery's free-loan educational programs.]