Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflects Black identity and spirituality, dies at 99

Betye Saar, an influential artist whose powerful works delved into Black identity, culture, and spirituality, passed away Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 99. Saar, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this week, was a central figure in the 1960s Black Art Movement.

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Her symbolically rich body of work has evolved over time to demonstrate the environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical context in which it exists.

She pioneered the use of assemblage boxes, creating sculptures from found objects, and notably reclaimed Jim Crow-era memorabilia. Her art transformed these items into potent symbols of Black liberation and resilience. The Los Angeles gallery Roberts Projects noted that Saar's "symbolically rich body of work has evolved over time to demonstrate the environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical context in which it exists."

Saar began her career in design before shifting to fine art at age 35. Her artistic practice incorporated painting, printmaking, sculpture, and the use of found objects like dolls, washboards, and antiques. Recurring motifs in her work included boats, clocks, cages, altars, and symbols of the occult and cosmology, often referencing her Leo astrological sign through lions.

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There weren't that many galleries in Los Angeles at the time and there certainly weren't any for Black artists.

Her 1969 piece "Black Girl's Window" was groundbreaking, though it gained wider recognition decades later. "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima," created in 1972, is another significant work. In it, Saar repurposed demeaning Black memorabilia, including a "mammy" stereotype, transforming the figure into a revolutionary symbol by equipping her with a rifle and grenade. This piece was a direct response to the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., an event Saar said "triggered a rage within me, and the mystic transformed into the warrior."

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I had a lot of hesitation about using powerful, negative images such as these, thinking about how white people saw Black people, and how that influenced the ways in which Black people saw each other. What saved it was that I made Aunt Jemima into a revolutionary figure.

Saar also mentored generations of Black artists. Her career, which continued actively into her 90s, profoundly impacted the art world by challenging perceptions and celebrating Black heritage through her unique artistic vision.

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triggered a rage within me, and the mystic transformed into the warrior.