Elizabeth Catlett

Private Collection, Chicago (acquired directly from the artist in Cuernevaca, Mexico)

in good condition; surface is full of striations and has a distressed look--that is artist's intention
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Over the course of her career, Elizabeth Catlett chose to have a number of smaller pieces, such as the present work, cast in bronze.  Some remained in her collection and some found their way into the collections of friends and associates she knew from the many years she lived in Cuernavaca, Mexico. 

The themes she favored were consistent with the social realism that predominated during the years in which she came of age as an artist and were infused with her political sensibilities and her empathy for her subjects -- the dignity and weariness of the worker, the concerns of mothers for their children and the crushing realities of poverty.

The stylistic range of her sculpture - from naturalistic realism to abstracted angularity - is characteristic of her ongoing exploration of the expressive possibilities of form in service to meaning.  With the extraneous details eliminated, even her smaller figures are imbued with a feeling of monumentality.  Beginning in the 1940s, Catlett created several sculptural representations of seated women and she returned to this theme repeatedly throughout her career.

Though likely not a study for a larger work, this bronze is clearly part of the artist's decades-long exploration of the formal and expressive opportunities this theme continued to offer her.

We are grateful to Dr. Melanie Anne Herzog for her help with the cataloging of this lot.

Lot 34 is illustrated as a frontispiece of this catalogue.