Created by
Catlett, Elizabeth, Mexican and American, 1915 - 2012
Date
1946; printed 1989
Medium
ink and graphite on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image with title): 6 3/4 × 6 3/8 in. (17.1 × 16.2 cm)
H x W (image): 6 3/8 × 6 3/8 in. (16.2 × 16.2 cm)
H x W (sheet): 12 5/16 × 10 1/8 in. (31.3 × 25.7 cm)
Caption
I wanted to show the history and strength of all kinds of Black women. Working women, country women, great women in the history of the United States. — Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett was a versatile sculptor and printmaker committed to making art that promoted women, family, community, and equality. In 1946, she received a Julius Rosenwald Foundation Grant to travel and study in Mexico City. There, she worked with the Taller de Gráphica Popular (People’s Graphic Arts Workshop), a printmaking collective primarily dedicated to the production of sociopolitical art. During her stay, she completed The Negro Woman. This narrative series of prints embodies a first-person perspective of Black women, imparting a sense of intimacy and resilience as the viewer navigates a variety of images relating to resilience, heroism, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.
Description
Black and white linocut of passengers on a bus. The first bus seat in the foreground has a [COLORED ONLY] sign at the top. There are four unidentified women seated behind this sign. The central woman in front is wearing a textured jacket. The title is handwritten in graphite below the image and the work is signed. The reverse is blank.
Portfolio/Series
The Black Woman (formerly the Negro Woman)
Classification
Visual Arts
Type
linocuts
Topic
Art
Identity
Race discrimination
Resistance
Segregation
Transportation
Women
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Winifred Hervey
Object number
2017.21.11
Restrictions & Rights
© 2020 Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd555738b30-3fab-4b7f-9069-d7c4600410d9

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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