Persevere and Resist: The Strong Black Women of Elizabeth Catlett

A richly illustrated exploration of the work of artist Elizabeth Catlett.

This book presents exciting new scholarship on the work of Mexican and American artist Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012). Accompanying an exhibition at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Persevere and Resist reconsiders Catlett’s works through the lens of contemporary psychology and sociology. Catlett was one of the most important visual chroniclers of the African American experience in the twentieth century. In addition to her print and drawing practice, Catlett was also an accomplished sculptor working in stone, wood, and clay in her lengthy career, which spanned six decades. The book offers reproductions of nearly three dozen prints and sculptures, along with an essay by noted Catlett expert Melanie Herzog that explores the artist’s life through the lens of today’s social concerns.