1947 (1989 reprint)

I have given the world my songs

Elizabeth Catlett

Mexican (born United States), 1915 - 2012

I have given the world my songs shows a seated woman playing guitar, conjuring scenes of racial violence in the background. In her choice of subject matter and black and blue palette, Elizabeth Catlett evokes blues music, a genre rooted in the experiences of Black people in the American South.

This image comes from a series of fifteen prints by Elizabeth Catlett that, as a whole, outline the contributions, hardships, and resilience of Black women in America. While their struggles are represented in the background, the focus of the print is on the unwavering resourcefulness of the Black songstress and her creative potential: she is giving the world her songs.