Catlett, Elizabeth

Catlett, Elizabeth

(born April 15, 1919, Washington, D.C., U.S.) Expatriate U.S. sculptor and printmaker. Catlett was born into a middle-class family. After studying sculpture, she went to Mexico City in 1946 to work at the Taller de Gráfica Popular, an artists' collective, where she created prints depicting Mexican life. About 1962 she took Mexican citizenship. In her sculptures and prints, Catlett focused on mother-child pairings, famous subjects such as Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X, and anonymous workers—notably strong, solitary black women.

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Catlett, Elizabeth (1919–  ) sculptor; born in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Howard University (1936) and the State University, Iowa (M.F.A. 1940). As an African-American she was a social activist as well as an artist. Based in Morelos, Mexico, she has taught at the School of Fine Arts, National University of Mexico (1958–76), and is known for her wood sculptures such as Black Unity (1968).