1. Catlett's attraction to Mexican
printmaking reflects a social
and political concern she
shares with the great muralists.
Like them she uses her art to
advance causes of particular
interest to her, including the
African-American experience
and the plight of the lower
classes. Many of her prints
show the multidimensional
aspects of women as mothers,
workers, and activists.
Mother and Child
1944
Elizabeth Catlett
Lithograph
Sheet: 12 3/8 x 9 3/8 in.
image: 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. (
Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999

2. Sharecropper
linocut
450 x 431 mm (block); 544
x 513 mm (sheet)
Restricted gift of Mr. and
Mrs. Robert S. Hartman,
Sharecropper
evokes Catlett's
belief in the strength
and dignity of the
working poor, while
it also offers a
heroic portrait of
this anonymous
woman.

3. Elizabeth Catlett has said that the purpose of her art
is to "present black people in their beauty and
dignity for ourselves and others to understand and
enjoy." As a sculptor and printmaker, she blends
figurative and abstract traditions with social
concerns, and has maintained a deep belief in the
democratic power of printed art to reach a large
audience. She has completed some eighty prints in
woodcut, screenprint, lithography, and, most
importantly, linoleum cut, a technique she learned at
El Taller de Gráfica Popular (People's Graphic
Workshop).

4. She also depicts
great women from
African-American
history, including
Harriet Tubman, who
is shown here
leading slaves to
freedom as a
"conductor" on the
Underground
Railroad.
Harriet
1975. Linoleum cut, composition: 12 7/16 x 10
1/8" (31.6 x 25.7 cm); sheet: 18 5/16 x 15 1/16"

5. Newspaper Vendor
(Study for the lithograph,
"Vendedora De Periodicos"),
1955
pencil on paper
Arkansas Arts Center
Foundation Purchase

6. ...and a special fear for
my loved ones
1946
Woodcut
6 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.

7. Man
1975 (printed 2003)
woodcut and color linocut
25 15/16” x 17 13/16”

8. In Sojourner Truth I fought
for the rights of women as
well as Negros
1947
Linoleum print
8 3/4 x 6 in.
Collection of DePaul University, Art
Endowment Fund

9. Portrait of a Woman
(Cabeza de Negra),
c. 1948
Print, Lithograph on cream wove
paper
Image: 22 1/4 x 17 1/8 in.
Sheet: 27 3/8 x 18 1/2 in)
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg
Museum, Margaret Fisher Fund,

10. "I Have Special Homes" (The Negro Woman Series),
1946 Woodcut on wove paper, 5 1/16" x 4"

11. "In Harriett Tubman, I
Helped Hundreds to
Freedom" (The Negro
Woman Series),
1946, Woodcut on wove paper,
5 1/16" x 4"