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Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist

Now on View

March 9 – July 6, 2025
East Building, Concourse

Committed to both craft and causes, this visionary artist-activist continues to inspire us today.

One of the defining artists of the 20th century, Elizabeth Catlett addressed the injustices she witnessed and experienced in the United States and Mexico through her bold prints and dynamic sculptures. See more than 150 of her creations in this exhibition, including rarely seen paintings and drawings.

Trace the career of this cultural force—from her roots in Washington, DC, Chicago, and New York to the remarkable body of work she made during some 60 years in Mexico. In striving to make art for the people, Catlett put justice at the very center of her work.  

Elizabeth Catlett, J. K. Fine Art Editions Co., Joseph Kleineman, Maureen Turci, Links Together, 1996, lithograph on wove Arches paper, Purchased as the Gift of Art Information Volunteers in Honor of Dianne Stephens, 2021.63.1

Elizabeth Catlett, Black Unity, 1968, cedar, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.11 © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photography by Edward C. Robison III

 

Elizabeth Catlett, Randy Hemminghaus, Anne Q. McKeown, Print Club of New York, Gossip, 2005, color digital and photo-lithograph on wove paper, Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 2008.115.1185

Elizabeth Catlett, Survivor, 1983, linocut on heavy wove paper, Purchased as the Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in Honor of Mary Lee Corlett, 2020.138.1

Elizabeth Catlett, Red Cross Woman (Nurse), c. 1944, gouache on paper, From the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, VA. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Angela Libre, 1972, lithograph in color on silver foil, Private Collection. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photocredit: Neil Boyd Photography

Elizabeth Catlett, Roots, 1981, serigraph, 14/40, From the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, VA. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper, 1946, oil on canvas, Collection of John and Hortense Russell. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photocredit: Wes Magyar

Elizabeth Catlett, I am the Negro Woman, 1947, linocut on paper, Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Art by Women Collection, Gift of Linda Lee Alter 2011.1.172. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Black Woman Speaks, 1970, Spanish cedar, Mrs. Thelma Driskell. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photocredit: Gregory R. Staley

Elizabeth Catlett, Harlem Woman, 1992, color lithograph with fabric collage, Gabriel Tenabe and Monilola Tenabe. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Homage to My Young Black Sisters, 1968, red cedar, Art Bridges. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, There is A Woman In Every Color, 1975, woodcut/linocut, From the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, VA. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Red Leaves, 1978, lithograph, University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 2006.59. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, For My People: A Second Generation, 1992, color lithograph, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Purchased with funds donated in memory of Florence Davis by her family, friends and the Women's Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photograph by Lee Stalsworth

Elizabeth Catlett, My right is a future of equality with other Americans, 1946–1947, Linoleum cut printed in green and black, The Baltimore Museum of Art: Purchased as the gift of Jeffrey A. Legum, Baltimore; BMA 2013.5. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Indian Woman, 1973, black marble, Courtesy of Laura and Richard Parsons. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photocredit: Roz Akin, New York

Elizabeth Catlett, Malcolm X Speaks for Us, 1969, linoleum cut [ed.40], The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist, 1988. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Political Prisoner, 1971, polychromed cedar, Art and Artifacts Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Firmas para la Paz, 1952, linocut, Peter Schneider and Susan DeJarnatt. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child, 1983, mahogany, New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum purchase, Women's Volunteer Committee Fund, 83.71. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Woman with Oranges, 1958, linocut, From the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, VA. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper (male), 1945, linocut, Williams College Museum of Art, Museum purchase, Kathryn Hurd Fund. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Events

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Organization
Organized by Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in collaboration with Art Institute of Chicago.

Organized by Dalila Scruggs, Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Catherine Morris, Sackler Senior Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum; and Mary Lee Corlett, Associate Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings (retired), National Gallery of Art; with Rashieda Witter, former Curatorial Assistant, National Gallery of Art, and Carla Forbes, Curatorial Assistant, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.

Other venues
Brooklyn Museum of Art, September 13, 2024–January 19, 2025
Art Institute of Chicago, August 30, 2025–January 4, 2026

Sponsors
Leadership support has been generously provided by Lugano.

The exhibition is also made possible through support from Dr. N. Anthony and Robyn Coles, Sheila Johnson, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Henry Luce Foundation.

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Elizabeth Catlett, Links Together, 1996, lithograph on wove Arches paper, National Gallery of Art, Purchased as the Gift of Art Information Volunteers in Honor of Dianne Stephens, 2021.63.1. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY