TitleFluted Head
Artist
Elizabeth Catlett
(American, 1915 - 2012)
Date1991
MediumPatinated bronze
DimensionsOverall (including base): 12 1/2 × 9 × 9 in.
Other (Sculpture): 10 1/2 × 9 × 9 in.
Other (Base): 2 × 5 7/8 × 5 7/8 in.
Edition3/9
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, May 21, 2003
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number2003.12
Label TextFocusing on the subject of women for more than fifty-years in both sculpture and prints, Elizabeth Catlett incorporates elements of African, African-American, Meso-American, and Native American cultures into her work. In the 1940s, Catlett moved to Mexico where she studied with Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siquieros at the printmaking workshop Táller de Graphica Popular while continuing to work in sculpture.This particular piece, "Fluted Head," is a typical work by Catlett with stylized features that have been reduced to an elegant minimalism. The title refers to the way in which the artist rendered the back of the figure's head. Catlett has worked in carved wood and stone as well as bronze casting, the medium of this piece. The artist noted that the stylization of the head was inspired by the shape of a shell.
