caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality field birth_date works image article_title name bgcolour
elizabeth -rrb- catlett , 1986 -lrb- photograph by fern logan 2 april 2012 cuernavaca , mexico washington , d.c. , united states american and mexican sculpture 15 april 1915 '' -rrb- `` sharecropper , '' students aspire '' the black woman -lrb- 1946-1947 elizabeth catlett.jpg elizabeth catlett
 elizabeth catlett # 6495ed
elizabeth catlett

elizabeth catlett -lrb- b. april 15 , 1915 .
-- d. april 2 , 2012 -rrb- was an african-american graphic artist and sculptor best known for her depictions of the african-american experience in the 20th century , which often had the female experience as their focus .
she was born and raised in washington , d.c. to parents working in education , and was the grandchild of freed slaves .
it was difficult for a black woman in this time to pursue a career as a working artist , and catlett devoted much of her career to teaching .
however , a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to mexico city , where she would work with the taller de gráfica popular for twenty years and head the sculpture department of the escuela nacional de artes plásticas .
in the 1950s , her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture , though she would never give up the former .
her work is a mixture of abstract and figurative in the modernist tradition , with influence from african and mexican art traditions .
according to the artist , the main purpose of her work is to convey social messages rather than pure aesthetics .
while not very well known to the general public , her work is heavily studied by art students looking to depict race , gender and class issues .
during her lifetime , catlett received many awards and recognitions including membership in the salón de la plástica mexicana , the art institute of chicago legends and legacy award , honorary doctorates from pace university and carnegie mellon and the international sculpture center 's lifetime achievement award in contemporary sculpture .
