Talks & Conversations

Gallery Talk—Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist

A man and a woman looking into each other's eyes with serious expressions on their faces.
Elizabeth Catlett, Randy Hemminghaus, Anne Q. McKeown, Print Club of New York, Gossip, 2005, color digital and photo-lithograph on wove paper, Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 2008.115.1185

Join us for a gallery talk in Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist with Dalila Scruggs, exhibition curator and Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum. One of the defining artists of the 20th century, Elizabeth Catlett addressed the injustices she witnessed and experienced in America and Mexico through her bold prints and dynamic sculptures. Discover the breadth of her career through more than 150 of her creations in this exhibition.

Sign language interpreters are available for this program. Please call 202.737.4215 or email [email protected] two weeks in advance for a request. Learn more about our accessibility services.

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A woman sitting on a floor with her body angled to our left nearly fills this stylized, vertical painting. Her skin is light tan in some areas, as around her eyes, chest, one hand, and the leg and foot we can see, while what seems like brown paint creeps up her neck to drip upward around her cheeks and onto her forehead. The brown also drips down onto her cleavage, along one arm toward her wrist, and down the shin of her leg. Her right hand, on our left, is entirely brown. She holds her long hair up over her head with her brown hand in front of her face, looking at it with blue eyes and touching it with the other hand. Her hair is blond with dark roots at her scalp, created with long, parallel brushstrokes. Her long nails and curling lips are scarlet red. She wears an emerald-green robe trimmed with white fur and a long strand of pearls that drape over her left arm, closer to us. She sits on a cushion decorated with brown koi fish and stylized blue waves of water, but the exact arrangement of her legs is unclear. A stack of patterned pillows is piled behind her to our left, and comes up to her shoulder. Red circular forms behind her head are painted slate blue with deep brown shadows and red highlights. The words “BACK AND FORTH” are repeated in rows, written in capital yellow letters edged with red, filling the background. Two Japanese characters are painted in red near the lower right corner.

Talks & Conversations:  Artist Talk: Rozeal.

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Registration Required

Talks & Conversations:  A Snapshot of Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985

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Talks & Conversations:  A Snapshot of Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985

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