Seated Figure with Hands to Head
| Artist | Elizabeth Catlett (American, 1915–2012) |
|---|---|
| Title | Seated Figure with Hands to Head |
| Date | Ca. 1982 |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Dimensions | Overall (with base): 8 5/16 × 3 5/8 × 4 1/2 in. (21.1 × 9.2 × 11.4 cm) Overall (without base): 7 1/4 × 3 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (18.4 × 8.3 × 9.5 cm) |
| Credit Line | Museum purchase with funds from Donald, Nicole, and Dexter Griffin; Janice and Mary Wiggins; and the Estate of Herman B Wells via the Joseph Granville and Anna Bernice Wells Memorial Fund, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2017.62 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
Seated nude female figure with her hands on her head and her elbows on her knees.
Sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett addressed themes of injustice, racism, workers’ and women’s rights, and human rights abuses in her oeuvre. In 1946 she moved to Mexico City, becoming a Mexican citizen in 1962. She often turned to sculpture to portray stylized African American women. The figure’s face is composed of geometric forms, suggestive of African masks, yet her pose is one traditionally associated with melancholy in western art.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Seated Figure with Hands to Head | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2017.62