CHICAGO, IL.- The Art Institute of Chicago opened Elizabeth Catlett: “A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” on view August 30, 2025 through January 4, 2026 . The exhibition is a long-overdue retrospective that brings together more than 100 works from across Elizabeth Catlett’s career, showcasing the significant role she played in her time and the influence she still has today. Catlett was a deft sculptor and printmaker, an ardent feminist, and a lifelong social activist—ultimately, making her a defining artist of the 20th century.

Catlett’s powerful work as both a revolutionary artist and radical activist continues to speak directly to all those united in the fight against poverty, racism, and imperialism. She remained steadfast in her commitment to both her art and political beliefs across nearly 100 years—from Jim Crow segregation through the Cold War and into Barack Obama’s first term as president.

Catlett was born in Washington, DC, and growing up during the Great Depression she witnessed class inequality, racial violence, and US imperialism firsthand, all while pursuing an artistic education grounded in modernism. She spent a brief but formative time in the South Side of Chicago amidst an influential group of black artists including Margaret Burroughs and Charles White. Then in 1946 she settled permanently in Mexico, where she worked for the rest of her life, amplifying the experiences of Black and Mexican women.

No matter where she lived, Catlett was a tireless advocate for change, using her soaring artworks and on-the-ground activism to challenge social injustices. Inspired by sources ranging from African sculpture to works by American sculptor Barbara Hepworth and German printmaker Käthe Kollwitz to Mexican graphic art, Catlett’s prints and sculptures are characterized by bold lines and voluptuous forms. While she privileged craftsmanship and technique in her practice, she was also intent that her work be understood by all and was very deliberate in choosing the medium that would best suit her desired message.

“As visitors go through the show, they will see how Catlett employed specific media in a way that seamlessly ties her art with her activism,” said Sarah Kelly Oehler, curator for Arts of the Americas and vice president of Curatorial Strategy at the Art Institute of Chicago. “She harnessed her printmaking to communicate deliberate messages while her sculptures are often more universal in meaning, and beautifully convey her exceptional command of three-dimensional form. Visitors will have an opportunity to see these works in conversation with each other.”

Elizabeth Catlett: “A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in collaboration with the  Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibition is organized by Dalila Scruggs, Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Catherine Morris, Sackler Senior Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum; and Mary Lee Corlett, associate curator of modern prints and drawings (retired), National Gallery of Art; with Rashieda Witter, former curatorial assistant, National Gallery of Art, and Carla Forbes, curatorial assistant, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum. Sarah Kelly Oehler is the curator for Arts of the Americas and vice president of Curatorial Strategy, and the Art Institute of Chicago venue curator for the exhibition.