Elizabeth Catlett’s ‘Mimi,’ 2007

Elizabeth Catlett was the first African American to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa, where she studied with Grant Wood. In 1946, she received a fellowship to study in Mexico, and the following year joined the Taller de Gráfica Popular, a collective supporting the making of graphic art in the service of social causes. She lived in Mexico for the rest of her life, where she gained acclaim as both printmaker and sculptor.