African American

kwassa

(23,340 posts) Wed Apr 4, 2012, 11:37 PM Apr 2012

Elizabeth Catlett, pioneering D.C.-born artist, dies at 96

She had a very interesting life, living much of it in Mexico.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/elizabeth-catlett-pioneering-dc-born-artist-dies-at-96/2012/04/03/gIQATNLIuS_story.html

Elizabeth Catlett, whose depictions of the strength and dignity of African American women made her one of the 20th century’s most important artists, died April 2 at her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She was 96.

Her son Francisco Mora Catlett announced her death but did not provide a cause.

Ms. Catlett, who was born in Washington, was a sculptor and printmaker who followed her own determined vision to become what poet Maya Angelou once called a “queen of the arts.”

Early in her career, Ms. Catlett decided that her art should serve a social purpose and be accessible to as many people as possible. With that in mind, she created figurative portrayals of African American life that have become prized by museums and collectors, including Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby.

Although she had lived in Mexico since 1946, Ms. Catlett was one of the few remaining links to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. Her friends included such storied African American thinkers and artists as W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Thurgood Marshall and Jacob Lawrence.