Los Angeles, California (July 30, 1926- July 26, 2026) 99yrs

Betye Irene Saar was an American assemblage artist, visual storyteller, and printmaker whose seven-decade career transformed found objects and racist memorabilia into powerful reflections on race, identity, spirituality, and feminism. A key figure in the 1970s Black Arts Movement, she is best known for works like The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972), which reimagined derogatory images as symbols of Black empowerment. Saar’s politically charged, symbol-rich assemblages drew on African, Caribbean, and American traditions and influenced generations of artists.