AMES, IOWA – January 5, 2024 – THE ART OF ELIZABETH CATLETT from the Collection of Samella Lewis will be on exhibition at the Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums affiliate at Iowa State University (ISU), located on the second floor of the Scheman Building, 1805 Center Drive, Ames, IA, beginning Tuesday, January 16, 2024 through Friday, May 10, 2024 with free admission for the public. The works of art come from the collection of artist, educator, and author Samella Lewis, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Art History, Scripps College, Claremont, CA. The late Lewis was a student of Catlett’s in the 1940’s and Catlett became her mentor. The two were lifetime friends. The exhibition includes prints and sculptures by Catlett, along with works of art by Dr. Samella Lewis and Catlett’s husband Francisco “Pancho” Mora.

Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012), a sculptor, printmaker, and graphic artist, is widely considered one of the most important African American artists of the 20th century. Her work blended art and social consciousness and confronted injustices against African Americans. She is best known for her art made during the 1960s and 70s, when she created politically charged, Black expressionistic sculptures and prints. Catlett was born in Washington, D.C. in 1915. She attended Howard University where she studied design, printmaking, and drawing. In 1940, Catlett became the first African American woman to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. In 1946, Catlett received a fellowship that allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she studied painting, sculpture, and lithography. There, she worked with the People's Graphic Arts Workshop, a group of printmakers dedicated to using their art to promote social change. After settling in Mexico and becoming a Mexican citizen, she taught sculpture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City until retiring in 1975. 

Samella Lewis wrote:

Elizabeth Catlett was my friend and my mentor in art. She is the reason that I began to see and think creatively… With Elizabeth’s assistance I was able to obtain an art scholarship from Hampton Institute to study with Dr. Viktor Lowenfeld who at that time was regarded as the most important scholar in the field of art. While I was a student at Hampton, Elizabeth and Lowenfeld opened many art doors for me… With her recent passing, she still lives in my life and my heart as my teacher and my friend. I will always remember her and be thankful for her friendship.

One of the three free programs in conjunction with the exhibition is a screening of the newly released Iowa-made film Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett (2023, New Mile Media Arts) followed by a question and answer session with the director Kevin Kelley and producer Marie Wilkes. The Mid-America Emmy nominated documentary on Catlett’s life includes footage and audio recordings of Catlett and interviews with friends who knew her personally. It covers her upbringing and education in Washington, D.C., her college years, and her dawning activism to her life as an artist/educator in Mexico. The film screening will take place on Sunday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Brunnier Art Museum.

Find full descriptions of programs on the University Museums Calendar. All programs are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Click the event title for more information and/or to register. Events listed below will be at the Brunnier Art Museum (1805 Center Dr., 295 Scheman Building, Ames, Iowa) unless otherwise noted. Programs are subject to change. Check the University Museums Calendar and Facebook page for the latest events information. All times are Central Standard Time (CST).

Curator’s Tour of The Art of Elizabeth Catlett: From the Collection of Samella Lewis

with Adrienne Gennett

Sunday, January 21, 2:00–3:00 p.m.

Brunnier Art Museum curator Adrienne Gennett will tour the exhibition with a discussion on the history of Catlett, the important themes addressed throughout her artistic career, and how she inspired artist and collector Samella Lewis. 

Screening of Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett

plus Q&A with Director Kevin Kelley and Producer Marie Wilkes

Sunday, January 28, 2:00–3:30 p.m.

Enjoy a private screening of the Iowa-made film Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett followed by a discussion with the director, Kevin Kelley, and producer, Marie Wilkes, of this new film dedicated to the life and incredible art of Elizabeth Catlett.

Elizabeth Catlett and the Art of the Print

presented by Mary Lee Corlett, former Associate Curator, Modern & Contemporary Prints & Drawings, National Gallery of Art

Thursday, February 29, 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Virtual on Zoom (link)

Elizabeth Catlett is among the most renowned artists of the twentieth century, equally celebrated as a printmaker and a sculptor. This talk will focus on the artistry of her printmaking practice and the multitude of ways in which print processes served her activist vision by facilitating modernist strategies such as repetition and appropriation, engagement with pattern and line, texture, color play, use of positive and negative space, and reversal. The foundational role played by the storied Mexico City print workshop, the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), in Catlett’s printmaking practice will be highlighted.

This program will not be recorded.

The Brunnier Art Museum is the only accredited museum emphasizing a decorative arts collection in the state of Iowa and one of the nation's few museums located within a performing arts and conference complex (Iowa State Center). Founded in 1975, the museum is named after its benefactors, Henry J. Brunnier and his wife Ann. Ceramics, glass, dolls, ivory, jade, and enameled metals are all included in the Brunnier Art Collection.

Museum Hours

Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Closed to the public Monday. ISU curriculum tours may be scheduled on Monday with a 2-week notice.

Closed University Holidays.

Admission is free. Donations are welcome.

museums.iastate.edu

University Museums is a distinctive organization that encompasses two art museums, a National Historic Landmark historic home museum, a sculpture garden, and one of the largest campus public art collections in the nation. University Museums brings world-class exhibitions with educational programming to Iowa State University, actively acquires works of art to add to the more than 30,000 permanent collection objects, conserves and preserves collections, conducts and publishes curatorial scholarship, and fosters student engagement.

museums.iastate.edu

To schedule interviews, photograph events, or request high-resolution images, please contact Alisha Abner at 515.294.3342 or aabner@iastate.edu. 

Header: Detail of There is a Woman in Every Color, 1975

Elizabeth Catlett (American and Mexican, 1915 – 2012)

Mixed media

Edition 32/33

From the collection of Samella Lewis

There is a Woman in Every Color, 1975

Elizabeth Catlett (American and Mexican, 1915 – 2012)

Mixed media

Edition 32/33

From the collection of Samella Lewis

Maternity, 1971

Elizabeth Catlett (American

and Mexican, 1915 – 2012)

Wood

From the collection of

Samella Lewis

Image of promotional poster for Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett

Singing Their Songs, 1972

Elizabeth Catlett (American and Mexican, 1915 – 2012)

Lithograph

Artist’s proof VII

From the collection of Samella Lewis