description Elizabeth Catlett – Sharecropper Overview
Sharecropper is a linocut by American and Mexican artist Elizabeth Catlett, developed from an image she first created in the early 1950s and later printed in editions. It portrays an older Black woman wearing a broad-brimmed hat, with strongly carved lines emphasizing her face, clothing, and surroundings. The work addresses the dignity and difficult economic circumstances of Black agricultural laborers and is held by several major museum collections.
help Elizabeth Catlett – Sharecropper FAQ
Who is the woman in Elizabeth Catlett's Sharecropper?
Catlett did not present the subject as a named portrait sitter. The older Black agricultural worker instead represents sharecroppers whose labor and dignity were frequently overlooked in American art.
Why are the lines in Sharecropper so prominent?
Catlett cut bold directional marks into a linoleum block to model the woman's weathered face, clothing, and broad-brimmed hat. The visible cuts are part of the linocut process and give the portrait its combination of toughness and monumentality.
When did Catlett make Sharecropper?
The image originated in the early 1950s and was subsequently printed in later editions, including color impressions associated with the late 1960s. Consequently, museums and auction records may attach different dates to particular impressions.
How does Sharecropper connect to Catlett's political art?
It continues Catlett's focus on Black women, labor, poverty, and resistance, themes also developed in her 1946 to 1947 series The Negro Woman. Catlett worked in both the United States and Mexico and joined Mexico City's politically engaged Taller de Gráfica Popular.
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