Hoo Doo Doll and Aunt Jemima – 4/72 belongs to one of the most important periods of Betye Saar's career. During the early 1970s, Saar transformed familiar racist imagery into powerful statements of Black identity, spirituality, memory, and resistance. Published by Contemporary Crafts during this formative period, this vintage offset lithograph preserves an important work from the period in which Saar emerged as one of the most influential artists of her generation.
Handcraft Studios, Los Angeles, California (later edition)
Produced by
Contemporary Crafts Inc.
Published under the authority
Published by Contemporary Crafts during the early 1970s.
Offered directly from the Samella Lewis Publishing Archive.
Source Archive
Original publishing archive and collection of Dr. Samella Lewis
Published by Contemporary Crafts during the early 1970s, this vintage offset lithograph remains part of the original Samella Lewis Publishing Archive and represents an increasingly scarce example of Contemporary Crafts' historic collaborations with leading Black artists.
Publication History
Published during the early 1970s, this vintage Contemporary Crafts offset lithograph reproduces Betye Saar's drawing Hoo Doo Doll and Aunt Jemima – 4/72.
Created during the same formative period as Saar's landmark Aunt Jemima works, it reflects her exploration of Black cultural memory, spirituality, and the reclamation of historically stereotyped imagery.
Surviving archive examples have become increasingly difficult to locate.
About the Artist
Betye Saar (b. 1926) is one of America's most influential contemporary artists. Best known for her assemblages, prints, and mixed-media works, Saar transformed historical imagery into powerful explorations of race, identity, spirituality, and memory.
Her work is represented in the collections of major museums throughout the United States and continues to shape conversations surrounding American art and culture.
About the Publisher
For more than five decades, Contemporary Crafts, Inc., under the direction of Dr. Samella Lewis, collaborated with many of the most significant African American artists of the twentieth century to publish, distribute, and preserve important works of art.
Today, the Samella Lewis Publishing Archive continues this mission by offering original publications directly from the historic archive.
Condition: Archive condition; may show minor signs of age consistent with vintage stored inventory.
Framing: Unframed
Documentation: Certificate of Authenticity included.
Availability
Offered directly from the Samella Lewis Publishing Archive. As examples enter museum, institutional, and private collections, the number of archive-held impressions continues to diminish.
Availability is therefore limited to the remaining original impressions preserved within the archive.
Shipping & Care
Each impression is individually inspected before shipment and carefully packaged to museum standards.
Your print ships securely in a protective package and includes a Certificate of Authenticity issued by the Samella Lewis Publishing Archive.
Shipping timelines and return information are provided at checkout.
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