Calendar of Events

Traveling Exhibitions

Family Legacies:
The Art of Betye, Alison and Lezley Saar

The art in Family Legacies, dating from the 1970s and including each artist's recent works, reflects the influence of the American civil rights and feminist movements. During the 1960s and 70s, Betye established herself as an artist in Los Angeles. Her autobiographical and political assemblages of this period affirmed the importance of women and African Americans, along with the arts that they created, in defining contemporary culture. Alison and Lezley continue the direction forged by their mother with sculptures and assemblages that also interpret their family's history and diverse spiritual traditions. Both daughters undermine the prevailing idea of a singular and unchanging African American identity by inspiring alternate, complex readings of this theme.

The exhibition will feature thirty-six objects, including mixed media sculptures, assemblages, collages and a collaborative installation created by the Saars. Twelve key works by each artist, representing the full chronological range and stylistic evolution of their oeuvre, will be arranged according to overlapping themes that underline the artists' family ties, multi-racial heritage and strong affinities to nature and African cultures. The works demonstrate a desire to reclaim the visual representation of African American women by exploring subjects including slavery, stereotypes of domestic labor and contentious historical images of the female body.