Insider Focus: Elizabeth Catlett's Prints in the Whitney's Collection

Floor Three, Susan and John Hess Family Theater

Insider Series members in the Curate Your Own Program

Curatorial fellow Michelle Donnelly will introduce the Whitney’s works on paper collection through a focused discussion of The Negro Woman print series by Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012). On view at the Museum for the first time in almost three decades, The Negro Woman, 1946–47, is a groundbreaking suite of fifteen linocuts that commemorate the courage, strength, and survival of African American women. Donnelly will examine Catlett’s artistic strategies across the prints, as well as the vital role of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (People's Graphic Arts Workshop) in Mexico City in the development and production of the series. The discussion will also draw connections between the prints and works by other artists in the Whitney’s collection, such as Grant Wood, Jacob Lawrence, and James Lesesne Wells.

Donnelly manages the Sondra Gilman Study Center, a storage, research, and display facility that houses the majority of the 18,000 drawings, prints, and photographs in the Whitney’s collection.

Individual and Dual Insiders Series members are invited to this event. For Individual members, the invitation is for one; for Dual members, the invitation is for two. Registration instructions will be provided by email.

To join or upgrade, call (212) 570-3641.

If you have questions about accessibility, please contact us at memberinfo@whitney.org. Learn more about access services.