Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) was born in Washington, D.C. Her father died soon after her birth, and her mother and grandparents raised her. Her mother was a social worker and taught her to take pride in her AfricanAmerican heritage. Catlett became the first woman to receive a master of fine arts degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa. Her teacher, Grant Wood, encouraged her to make art about what she knew from experience. Much of Catlett’s art supports social change and political activism. She became an art professor and won many awards. The artist moved to Mexico in 1946 and lived there until her death in 2012.
In this sculpture, Catlett creates a portrait of Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley, born in Africa in approximately 1753, was sold into slavery in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1761. In an unusual situation for the time, the family that purchased Wheatley taught her to read and write. She thrived in her studies, which included history, Greek, and Latin. She started writing poems about life and freedom and became the first black, and one of the first women in America, to publish a book of poems. The family freed Wheatley, but she died in poverty in her early 30s.
Catlett used the picture of Wheatley that appears on the frontispiece in her poetry book as a reference image. But the artist made significant changes. She simplifies Wheatley’s cap and lips, minimizes her hair, smoothes away her eyebrows, and removes the details in her dress. These changes emphasize the essence of Wheatley’s character.
Catlett modifies Wheatley’s pose. She moves Wheatley’s hand slightly to allow an unobstructed view of her face. The artist also gives Wheatley’s wrist and finger a straighter, stronger pose. Her right hand no longer holds a writing quill but wraps meditatively around her other arm.
Catlett scored the bronze with grooves to create texture that suggests details that are not fully realized. She reduces the cap to a row of short lines, and the dress is marked with scattered textures. These techniques help refer to the fabric without introducing details that would distract from Wheatley’s face. The contrast between the rough and smooth textures also emphasizes the most important parts of the sculpture: Wheatley’s highlighted face and arms.
This sculpture is a perceptive portrait. Catlett made it on a human scale to which viewers can relate. She gave Wheatley an introspective expression by showing her wideopen eyes fixed on a distant vision. Catlett simplifies the form gently, drawing on the timelessness and endurance in African art.