Sharecropper

Elizabeth Catlett's linoleum cut print "Sharecropper" (1957, printed in 1970) is an excellent example of Catlett's bold visual style and her print craftsmanship. The halo created by the brim of the sharecropper's sun hat, and the upward angle from which the viewer observes her, make the figure seem monumental. The crisp black lines and the rich brown and green inks are accentuated by the bright opaque white watercolor applied by hand along the outline of her chin, on the right side of her neck, and in the corners of her eyes.In addition to being a visually striking work, "Sharecropper" represents the rich aesthetic exchange that transpired between American and Mexican artists during the twentieth century. Catlett received her M.F.A. in 1940 from the University of Iowa, where she studied under the Regionalist painter Grant Wood. She went to Mexico City in1946, a time when many African American artists went there in search of a creative environment more receptive to artists of color. Catlett became a central figure at the Taller de Gráfica Popular, the most important and experimental printmaking workshop in Mexico. The socially engaged imagery produced at the TGP inspired Catlett to build on what she learned while studying with Wood. "Sharecropper" resonates with the economic circumstances of African American rural laborers as well as with the agrarian reforms that were occurring in Mexico.