Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.76 People

Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.76 People

© President and Fellows of Harvard College
Identification and Creation
Object Number
2006.76
People
Elizabeth Catlett, American (Washington, DC 1915 2012 Cuernavaca, Mexico)
Printed by Taller de Grafica Popular
Title
Portrait of a Woman (Cabeza de Negra)
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
1 of 4
Date
c. 1948
Culture
American
Physical Descriptions
Medium
Lithograph on cream wove paper
Technique
Lithograph
Dimensions
Image: 56.5 x 43.5 cm (22 1/4 x 17 1/8 in.)
Sheet: 69.5 x 47 cm (27 3/8 x 18 1/2 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
Signed: Lower right in graphite pencil: ECatlett
label: verso: Institut[illegible]nal de Bellas Artes Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno / Oficina de Registro
de Obras / Mexico / Autor Elizabeth Catlett 1919 /
Titulo "Cabeza de Negra" / Tecnica Litografia /
Medidas 56.5 x 43.5 / Pintado (Fecha) / Coleccion Del
Autor.
inscription: verso LL in graphite (inscription revealed
after paper adhesive label was removed in
conservation lab): Elizabeth Catlett / Cabeza / $150.00
inscription:
label: verso : Elizabeth Catlett / "Cabeza" de Negra /
Litografia [illegible] / Taller de Grafica Popular
2 of 4
State, Edition, Standard
Edition
Reference Number
5/20
Acquisition and Rights
Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher
Fund
Copyright
Art © Elizabeth Catlett/Licensed by VAGA, New York,
NY
Accession Year
2006
Object Number
2006.76
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
[email protected]
Descriptions
Commentary
Elizabeth Catlett made this portrait of an unknown
black woman at the Taller de Gráfica Popular around
1948. As it's name suggests, the Taller was a graphic
arts workshop created to serve the Mexican people.
The artists who worked there saw themselves as heirs
to the nineteenth-century Mexican print tradition of
3 of 4
Jose Posada, who created countless political
broadsheets. Drawn to their revolutionary politics,
Catlett went to work at the Taller in 1946. Her efforts
there resulted in the "Negro Women" prints, a series of
linocuts that illustrate the historic oppression,
resistance, and survival of African American women.
Catlett emphasizes and celebrates the racial
characteristics of a black woman in this lithograph as
well. She highlights her round eyes, broad nose, fleshy
lips, smooth dark skin, and scratches away the ink from
the litho stone to create the effect of kinky hair.
Subjects and Contexts
Collection Highlights
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff
but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently
revised and enhanced. For more information please
contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art
at [email protected]
Generated on December 21, 2016 at 06:47am
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