[ad_1]
“Art for me now 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.” — Elizabeth Catlett
In 1946 Elizabeth Catlett created the series “The Black Woman,”that chronicled the oppression and resilience of subjects such as field laborers, domestic workers, historic abolitionists, and civil rights activists “to try to make people see them as beautiful, dignified, strong people instead of, as Ralph Ellison says, ‘invisible.’”
Throughout the years, her belief in the power of her art to encourage change and reform perceptions of her people never wavered.
See “The Black Woman” series on view now in our fifth-floor galleries.
—
All artworks by Elizabeth Catlett from the series The Black Woman. 1946, printed 1989. Acquired through the generosity of Erin and Peter Hess Friedland, and Modern Women’s Fund. © 2024 Elizabeth Catlett / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York [1] “I Am The Black Woman” [2] “I Have Always Worked Hard in America” [3] “In the Fields…” [4] “In Other Folks’ Homes…” [5] “In Harriet Tubman I Helped Hundreds to Freedom” [6] “In Sojourner Truth I Fought for the Rights of Women as Well as Blacks” [7] “In Phillis Wheatley I Proved Intellectual Equality in the Midst of Slavery” [8] “I Have Given the World My Songs” [9] “My Right Is a Future of Equality with Other Americans” [10] “My Role Has Been Important in the Struggle to Organize the Unorganized” [11] Charles White. “Elizabeth Catlett in her studio.” c. 1942. Private collection. © The Charles White Archives [12] “I Have Special Reservations” [13] Archival audio courtesy of The National Visionary Leadership Project and the U.S. Library of Congress
[ad_2]
Source link