Nigerian

Artist Elizabeth Catlett (American, 1915 - 2012)

Date1976

MediumConté crayon and graphite on wove paper

DimensionsSheet: 26 3/4 × 18 11/16 inches (67.9 × 47.5 cm)
Framed: 31 5/8 × 25 5/8 × 1 inches (80.3 × 65.1 × 2.5 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter and Linda Evans

Object number2025.22

On View

On view

Copyright© 2026 Mora-Catlett Family / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextElizabeth Catlett studied fine art at Howard University and later the University of Iowa, where she became the first woman to receive an MFA in sculpture. Following stints in Chicago and New Orleans, Catlett spent significant time in Harlem, New York, in the early 1940s, surrounded by a circle of influential artists like Charles Alston (1907–1977) and Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) on view in this gallery. Although she gained a reputation as a sculptor, her practice included printmaking due to her appreciation for its versatility as a reproducible and inexpensive medium. Her work tended to be figurative, often focused on historical and contemporary Black subjects such as this portrait of a Nigerian man. His slender face is in profile, staring forward, providing a strong look to showcase Catlett’s decisive linework and intentional shading. Her art sought to expand representation, politically motivated by her beliefs in radical change and equality for all. After a move to Mexico in 1946, Catlett was denied reentry to the United States for many years due to her outspokenness, considered by her home country as an “undesirable alien.” Recently, Catlett was the subject of a major traveling exhibition titled “A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” after her own quote about social activism and artmaking.

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