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.”