Sister

Melanie Ann Herzog writes of the present work, "Sister shows Catlett's continued interest in the female form and her tendency to confound closed readings of identity. Carved in green Mexican marble in 1971, this bust is elegant in the strength of its simplicity, with beautifully organic curves that define its generalized shapes...Sister's title suggests an African American woman's identity and outlook...What complicates an easy reading of identity in this sculpture, and suggests a more transnational and historically complex sisterhood, is that the mouth also quite noticeably resembles the mouths characteristic in ancient Olmec sculpture." (Elizabeth Catlett: An American Artist in Mexico, Seattle, Washington, 2000, p. 154)