Betye Saar

Girl Children

1964

Etching

Not on view

During the 1960s, Saar’s three daughters—Lezley, Alison, and Tracye—were simultaneously her full-time job and her models and muses. Girl Children depicts them together, with the oldest in strict profile and the middle child peeking out from behind the baby, who is front and center. Both playful and mysterious, this and related works celebrate the intimacy of family and hint at Saar’s developing interest in ancestral lineage. They also prioritize the experiences of a woman artist and mother, unrecognized by many in the art world in the 1960s.

Gallery label from

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

Medium Etching
Dimensions plate: 17 11/16 × 13 9/16" (44.9 × 34.5 cm); sheet: 19 5/16 × 15 3/16" (49 × 38.5 cm)
Publisher Betye Saar, Los Angeles
Printer Betye Saar, Los Angeles
Edition planned edition of 25, 16 known variants
Credit The Candace King Weir Endowment for Women Artists
Object number 1179.2018
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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