Elizabeth Catlett (1919-2012)

Recognized as both a skilled printmaker and sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett's impressive career spanned more than 70 years. In both media, Catlett's celebration of the African American female form is evident. Lowery Stokes Sims wrote of Catlett's depiction of women, "Catlett's commitment to the female form has been commented on many times. Invariably it is a celebration of people of the peasant and working class. Her women are characterized by sturdy, voluptuous physiques that invite comparisons with the well-known female presences that predominate the oeuvre of the Mexican sculpture Francisco Zuñiga...In Catlett's oeuvre, the female form is never gratuitously eroticized, but rather analyzed and defined for its manifestation of fecundity and strength." (June Kelly Gallery, Elizabeth Catlett: Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1993, p. 5) Indeed, 'Stepping Out' is a stylized depiction of a strong, shapely female form. Catlett utilizes the folds in the woman's dress to emphasize her solidarity and positions the figure so as to imbue the sculpture with character and motion. The present work manifests Catlett's incorporation of diverse influences into her highly personal style.