Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist
Washington D.C.
On View Through July 6, 2025
This exhibition has been on our mind since we first mentioned it a few months ago in an article of exhibitions to go see. So we were super excited to finally get a chance to see it in person. If you're not familiar with Elizabeth Catlett, we hope this article serves as a great introduction—and we hope you get a chance to see the show before it closes.
Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett in Her Studio, 1942. (Courtesy of the Charles White Archives)
Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) was a masterful sculptor and printmaker, a dedicated feminist, and a lifelong freedom fighter. Over the course of nearly a century, she built an artistic legacy grounded in formal excellence and unwavering political commitment. Her art served a purpose beyond aesthetics—it became a vessel for dignity, justice, and the liberation of the oppressed.
Born in Washington, D.C., Catlett studied at Howard University before earning an MFA from the University of Iowa, becoming one of the first African American women to do so. Her early years were shaped by politically charged creative circles in Chicago and New York—environments that sharpened her sense of social responsibility. In 1946, she moved to Mexico, eventually becoming a citizen and joining the Taller de Gráfica Popular, a renowned printmaking collective that used art as a tool for education and transformation. Although she built a life abroad, Catlett never turned her back on the fight for Black liberation in the U.S. She saw the struggles of African Americans, Indigenous Mexicans, women, and workers as deeply connected—and her art became a bridge between these movements.
(Elizabeth Catlett, Links Together, lithograph, 1996)
“I am inspired by Black people and Mexican people, my two peoples,” she once said.
This dual allegiance shaped her vision and voice. Focused primarily on sculpture and printmaking, Catlett devoted her career to depicting the beauty, endurance, and resistance of those too often pushed to the margins.
Elizabeth Catlett, Black Unity, cedar, 1968
Created during her exile from the United States, this powerful tribute to the Black Power Movement reflects Catlett’s unwavering solidarity with the struggle for Black liberation. Working from her studio in Mexico, she aligned herself with both the political force of the movement and its cultural expression through the Black Arts Movement.
Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist / Una Artista Negra Revolucionaria reflects this sweeping, cross-border vision. Organized both thematically and chronologically, the exhibition highlights Catlett’s most celebrated pieces alongside lesser-known works—offering a fuller understanding of her creative evolution and political depth.
The title itself signals the exhibition’s intent: this is as much a tribute to Catlett’s identity and impact as it is a call to confront the systems she challenged. Her art does not sit quietly behind glass—it speaks out. About labor, motherhood, racial injustice, and liberation. The prints are sharp and urgent. The sculptures are grounded, maternal, monumental. Whether carved in wood or cast in bronze, her figures command space with a quiet strength.
Sharecropper, oil on canvas, 1946.
A standout work, Sharecropper (1952), captures a lifetime of perseverance in a single profile. The subject’s hat, the deep lines etched into her face, the tightly framed composition—all contribute to a sense of lived truth. This is not abstraction for abstraction’s sake. Catlett was concerned with clarity. Her work aimed to be understood, felt, and acted upon.
Crucially, the exhibition treats Catlett’s politics not as an aside, but as essential to her artistic philosophy. Her affiliations with leftist groups, her exile during the McCarthy era, and her alliance with the Mexican labor movement are presented not as biographical footnotes, but as integral to her process and purpose. For Catlett, art and activism were never separate lanes—they were one and the same.
Three Women of America, Screenprint, 1990
What makes the exhibition especially effective is its accessibility. Wall texts appear in both English and Spanish, honoring the transnational nature of Catlett’s life and making clear that her legacy belongs to multiple communities. The curation avoids heavy-handedness, offering space for viewers to linger, question, and connect.
A large screen features a short film honoring Catlett. The film also spotlights one of our favorite contemporary artist and printmakers, LaToya Hobbs, who demonstrates the process behind her piece titled Dahlias for Naima. This multimedia element adds a dynamic layer to the exhibition, connecting Catlett’s influence to artists working today.
Still, the emotional weight of Catlett’s work is hard to overstate. Each piece asks for engagement. This is not an exhibition to breeze through. A slower layout might have allowed for deeper moments of reflection, but perhaps that urgency is part of the point. Catlett’s world was not built for passivity. Her art demands that we stay awake.
LaToya Hobbs, Dahlias for Naima, woodcut, 2025. (Courtesy of artist)
In a time when historical narratives are being revised and resistance is too often rebranded as unrest, A Black Revolutionary Artist / Una Artista Negra Revolucionaria stands as a vital reminder: the personal is political, and the political can be profoundly beautiful. Elizabeth Catlett’s work does not merely illustrate struggle—it dignifies it. It insists that fine art belongs to the people, especially those long denied a place in its halls.
This exhibition is not just a look back at what one artist achieved. It’s an invitation to carry her vision forward.
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