Elizabeth Catlett
Standing Mother and Child

Standing Mother and Child

© Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Standing Mother and Child
Standing Mother and Child
ArtistMexican, born United States, 1915–2012
CultureMexican
Titles
  • Standing Mother and Child
Date1978
PlaceMexico
MediumBronze with copper alloy on wood base
Dimensions16 1/2 × 4 × 4 1/2 in. (41.9 × 10.2 × 11.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the African American Art Advisory Association
Object number98.658
Not on view

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Object Type
Description

Raised
in Washington, D.C., and educated at Howard University and the University of
Iowa, Elizabeth Catlett moved to Mexico in 1946, where she allied herself with
the political idealism of such artists as David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera,
and Frida Kahlo. She commented:
“I have always wanted my art to service my people—to
reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our
potential.”



Standing Mother and Child is one of many works Catlett devoted to the
theme of motherhood. Herself the mother of three sons, she recognized the
powerful role women played in establishing a secure social structure. Catlett
explained: “If I do a sculpture of a mother and child, I try to give a sense to
all black mothers and their children; I want them to feel a sense of dignity in
their accomplishment.”




ProvenancePurchased by MFAH, 1998.
Exhibition History"Our New Day Begun: African American Artists Entering the Millennium," at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, Austin, TX, from February 19 to May 29, 2000; at the African American Museum, Dallas, TX, from June 12 to August 31, 2000; and at the University Museum, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, from November 12, 2000 to February 18, 2001 (LN:2000.9)

"African-American Advisory Association (Five-A)" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 2 to April 7, 2003.

"African-American Art in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston", The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 22, 2004 - May 9, 2004.

"Houston Collects: African American Art," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Upper Brown Pavilion, July 31-October 26, 2008.

"Statements: African American Art from the Museum's Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Millennium Gallery, January 24–September 25, 2016.

"Afro-Atlantic Histories," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 24, 2021–January 17, 2022; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 11, 2022–September 10, 2023; Dallas Museum of Art, October 22, 2023–February 11, 2024. (OL.1505)
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
The sculpture is signed: "EC" on top of the bronze base at the back.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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