Collection Online as of June 7, 2023

(American, 1915–2012)

Linoleum cut

Sheet: 28.5 x 24 cm (11 1/4 x 9 7/16 in.); Image: 21.6 x 15.2 cm (8 1/2 x 6 in.)

Gift from funds of various donors to the Department of Prints and Drawings 2000.95

Edition: (20) this is the archival impression from the TGP

Location

not on view

Description

Catlett wrote boldly about her work: "[My] purpose is to present black people in their beauty and dignity for ourselves and others to understand and enjoy and to exhibit my work where black people can visit and find art to which they can relate." Catlett won a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship to go to Mexico City in 1946 and work at the Taller de Gráfica Popular (People's Graphic Art Workshop). There she produced The Negro Woman series of 15 linocuts, which includes I Have Always Worked Hard in America, a historical celebration of the oppression, resistance, survival, and achievements of African American women.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed and dated in graphite, below image, l.r: E Catlett 46 TGP workshop stamp printed in purple ink l.l. corner of sheet VERSO: inscribed in graphite, l.l. : Elizabeth Catlett / R.12; inscribed in black ink, l.l.: "siempre he trabajado duro"

Provenance

Archival impression from the TGP (Taller de Grafica Popular) workshop in Mexico, sold directly to Tobey Moss Gallery (Los Angeles, CA) from whom the CMA purchased the print

Exhibition history

The Cleveland Museum of Art (1/26/2014 - 5/18/2014); "Our Stories: African American Prints and Drawings"