1975 & 1979 Elizabeth Catlett Prints
GUEST: My mom got these probably about 21, 22 years ago; she was a social worker. However, she really had a love of art, especially African American art.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And, at the time, she was working in D.C., and she met a woman who, I believe, owned, um, a gallery or something along those lines, and she had some financial difficulties, and so, she needed to get rid of the paintings. So, my mom purchased them from her.
APPRAISER: Do we know what your mom may have paid then?
GUEST: It was either $2,500 for the total or $2,500 apiece.
APPRAISER: Okay. What do you know about the artist?
GUEST: I do know that she's African American.
APPRAISER: Mm.
GUEST: I believe she may have been born in North Carolina in, like, 1915. She was, um, an art professor, I believe, at Howard...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...and then, subsequently, she moved to Mexico.
APPRAISER: It's Elizabeth Catlett, and she did attend Howard University. She was really, not only a great printmaker, but also a great sculptor. Very talented and really progressive. Very ahead of her time. We see that she was very interested in depicting African American women, African American families, the plight of African Americans, and was an exceptional artist. She went to Howard University, but had actually been accepted to what is now Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, but was not able to attend because of her race. She got really interested in printmaking. Then she went to Mexico, and she really, over the course of her life, was a dual citizen. She had very strong political views, really a social activist, and in fact, there was a time where she was not permitted to go back to America...
GUEST: Hmm.
APPRAISER: ...and she became a citizen of Mexico. These are both original prints. The one closest to me is entitled Two Generations. It's a lithograph from 1979, and we see that it's clearly signed "E. Catlett," dated 1979. Titled… and it's in a limited edition of 100. Can you see what the print next to you is titled?
GUEST: Harriet.
APPRAISER: Harriet, which was done in 1975. The print is a linocut, and of course, depicts Harriet Tubman, the great abolitionist, and what a powerful image. If there's a sort of quietness here, that has its own power, Harriet Tubman was about five-foot-two-inches, but here, we see her leading people out of slavery, and she is this larger-than-life commanding presence. Really a strong image. Both of them are in great condition. Conservatively, Two Generations, I think you'd be talking about, by itself, $4,000 to $6,000 at auction.
GUEST: Great.
APPRAISER: Harriet is a little bit more valuable at auction. I would expect to see that at closer to $5,000 to $8,000.
GUEST: Okay, great. Thank you. Wonderful. Great to hear.
$9,000 - $14,000 Auction
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