Remembering Betye Saar, Leading Voice of Black Arts Movement

All Of It with Alison Stewart · Aug 3, 2026 · 21m

The artist Betye Saar died last week at the age of 99, just days before her 100th birthday. Saar was famously a leading voice of the Black Arts Movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and was known for repurposing found objects that depict harmful Black stereotypes, including ceramic "mammies" she repurposed into sculptures that transform and subvert their original racism. Jane Carpenter-Rock, acting director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, who wrote her dissertation on Saar's work, discusses the legacy of Betye Saar.

Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images: Portrait of American artist Betye…