Artist Betye Saar, whose work explored Black identity, culture, and spirituality, died Sunday morning in Los Angeles at the age of 99. Her death was confirmed by relatives on Monday, just days before what would have been her 100th birthday.
Saar was a central figure of the 1960s Black Art Movement, recognized for her innovative use of assemblage, creating sculptures from found objects. She notably reclaimed Jim Crow-era memorabilia, transforming them into powerful symbols of Black liberation. Her symbolically rich body of work evolved to address environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical contexts, according to Roberts Projects, the Los Angeles gallery that represented her.
She began her artistic career at age 35, transitioning from design, and continued creating art well into her 90s. Growing up in Pasadena, Saar was part of a vibrant community of Black artists in nearby Altadena. She often cited Simon Rodia's Watts Towers as an early source of inspiration.
"Her appropriation of Black collectibles, heirlooms, and utilitarian objects are transformed through subversion," the gallery stated. "Among the older generation of Black American artists, Saar is without reproach."
Saar's practice spanned painting, printmaking, sculpture, and the incorporation of found objects such as dolls and antiques. Two of her most significant works include "Black Girl's Window," created in 1969 and acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2019, and "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima," made in 1972. "Black Girl's Window" achieved widespread recognition decades after its creation, while "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima" features a reclaimed mammy figure armed with a rifle and a hand grenade.
"That was done as an answer to the killing of Dr. King," said Angela Robinson Witherspoon, referring to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Witherspoon, who produced and directed a 2023 documentary on Saar, "Betye Saar: Ready to Be A Warrior," noted that Saar wanted to be part of the Civil Rights Movement while raising her three young daughters.
The Aunt Jemima brand, which was part of Quaker Oats for over 130 years, was retired in 2020 by the company, which acknowledged the logo's origins were based on a racial stereotype.
"I think that she had boundless energy for making art. I think she had a lot to say and was tired of the art world being dominated by white males," Witherspoon added.
Although Saar had a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1975, major institutions exhibited her work sporadically for decades. However, in 2019, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and MoMA both mounted concurrent solo shows of her work. Saar also mentored a generation of Black artists, including painter Kerry James Marshall, and has long been considered a leading figure in the West Coast art scene. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in the spring of 2026.
An exhibition focusing on Saar's costume design, "Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar," is currently on view at Robert Projects.