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

Artist Betye Saar passed away on Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 99. She was mere days away from her 100th birthday.

Saar gained prominence as a major figure in the Black Art Movement of the 1960s. She became known for her assemblage boxes that incorporated found objects. Her work often reclaimed pieces of Jim Crow-era memorabilia, transforming derogatory items into powerful symbols of Black liberation.

Her career began in design, but she transitioned to fine art at age 35. Over the following decades, she incorporated a wide range of materials into her practice including antique dolls, washboards, and various household objects. Her work reflected her interests in cosmology and spirituality while maintaining a sharp focus on historical and racial contexts.

One of her most significant works is the 1972 piece The Liberation of Aunt Jemima. In this work, Saar recontextualized a harmful caricature by depicting the figure holding a rifle and a hand grenade. This piece was a direct response to the 1968 assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

While her work was featured in a 1975 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, institutional recognition was sporadic for many years. This changed in 2019 when both the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York held major solo exhibitions of her work. In the spring of 2026, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She leaves behind a legacy as both a creator and a mentor to generations of artists.