Betye Saar

Phrenology Man Digs Sol y Luna

1966

Etching with relief-printed found objects

Not on view

Phrenology, a pseudoscience that has been definitively debunked, links portions of the human brain to different character traits and capacities. It gained popularity in the nineteenth century and was cited by proponents of slavery and segregation as proof of the inferiority of African Americans. That a black woman adopted this motif in her work may seem subversive, but according to Saar, she was attracted to phrenology as a map of the unknown, in keeping with her interest in astrology and palmistry. Her own Phrenology Man, who appears in this print and several others, has the words “SEX” and “HATE” tumbling through his mind, together with animals, flowers, and astrological signs.

Gallery label from

Betye Saar: The Legends of Black Girl’s Window, October 21, 2019–January 4, 2020

Medium Etching with relief-printed found objects
Dimensions composition: 14 5/8 × 15" (37.1 × 38.1 cm); sheet (irreg.): 17 3/8 × 17 1/2" (44.1 × 44.5 cm)
Publisher Betye Saar, Los Angeles
Printer Betye Saar, Los Angeles
Edition planned edition of 20, 5 known impressions
Credit Acquired through the generosity of The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art in honor of Eric J. Barkley
Object number 1196.2018
Department Drawings and Prints

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Betye Saar

Betye Saar

American, born 1926 49 works online

In Betye Saar’s work, time is cyclical. History and experiences, emotion and knowledge travel across time and back again, linking the artist and viewers of her work with generations of people who came before them.

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