Traveling Art Exhibit Explores an Iowa Revolutionary’s Roots
OBJECT ID: 5758-149; SERIGRAPH, 14/40; SHEET: 35.6 X 50.2 CM (14 X 19 3/4 IN.); FRAMED: 71.1 X 83.8 CM (28 X 33 IN.); FROM THE HAMPTON UNIVERSITY MUSEUM COLLECTION, HAMPTON, VA; © 2024 MORA-CATLETT FAMILY/ LICENSED BY VAGA AT ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY
Roots by Elizabeth Catlett, 1981
Pioneering artist and activist Elizabeth Catlett (40MFA) is the subject of a major traveling retrospective this year showcasing more than 150 of her works, including Roots, pictured here.
After debuting at the Brooklyn Museum this past fall, Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist is on display March 9 to July 6 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and Aug. 30 to Jan. 4, 2026, at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Catlett (1915–2012), who studied at the UI from 1938–40 with Grant Wood as her instructor, was the nation’s first Black woman to earn an MFA degree. Considered one of the most important sculptors and printmakers of the 20th century, Catlett used her politically charged artwork to address the social injustice she experienced living in the U.S. and Mexico.
Accompanying the retrospective is the new book Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies, edited by exhibition co-curator Dalila Scruggs.