Skip to profile content
Discovery
Log In
All Artists

Betye Saar

Works

Filters

Size
0 in 120 in
Reset
Orientation
Portrait Landscape Square
Clear Filters
  1. National Racism: We Was Mostly 'Bout Survival by Betye Saar, Image 1.

    Betye Saar

    National Racism: We Was Mostly 'Bout Survival, 1998

    Color silkscreen

Betye Saar was born in Pasadena, California. During visits to her grandmother in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, she watched as the fantastic Watts Towers were slowly being constructed by Simon Rodia out of broken glass, bottle tops, and other junk. The experience would later influence her own work.
Saar was a latecomer to art. Graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1949 and then marrying, she returned to California State University at Long Beach to earn a teaching certificate. There she was exposed to printmaking and decided to get an MFA in graphic design. However, when her prints began to win competitions, she reconsidered and at the age of thirty-four turned to art as a full-time career.