Elizabeth Catlett’s artistic career spanned an impressive six decades, and is characterized by a rich body of sculptures and prints that illustrate her identity as a woman of African American and Mexican descent. Many of the themes in Catlett’s body of work center around her experiences as a woman of color. Executed in 1986, Reclining Woman is typical of Catlett’s commitment to exploring the female form and female-centric issues within her oeuvre.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1915, Catlett is the granddaughter of formerly enslaved people. She received her artistic training from Howard University beginning in 1931, after Carnegie Mellon rescinded her acceptance due to her race. Such experiences directly informed Catlett’s approach to delving into racial injustice within her art. Following her undergraduate studies, Catlett attended University of Iowa for her Master in Replica Handbags s, where she became their first recipient of a MFA in sculpture. Grant Wood, the nation’s leading American Regionalist painter and her instructor at the t.mes , was instrumental in encouraging Catlett to produce art about “something you know the most about” (Elizabeth Catlett interview with Clifton Johnson, 5 January 1984). Through this advice, Catlett arrived at a body of work that illustrates the experiences of women, Black individuals, and the working class.

Catlett visited Mexico City in 1946 on a grant from the Rosenwald Foundation. This prompted her to establish permanent residence shortly thereafter, teaching at the National School of Replica Handbags s in Mexico City from 1958 until 1976. Similar to works she executed in the United States, Catlett’s prints and sculptures also engage with racial inequity in Mexico and her experiences as a Black woman living in Mexico.

Reclining Woman showcases a female figure leaned on her side, her body supported by her outstretched forearm. The motif of the reclining nude has permeated art history for centuries, transcending geographic, cultural, and racial boundaries. The present work illustrates Catlett’s endeavor into the iconic figural trope.

Reclining Woman has remained in private hands for more than twenty years and makes its debut at public auction this May. The majority of Catlett’s sculptures that appear at auction are executed in bronze, making the opportunity to acquire a mahogany piece by the artist a rarer occurrence.