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Collage of five diverse artworks from the Hammer Museum Collections side by side. From left to right: 1) Contemporary painting of two embracing figures with surreal elements. 2) Post-impressionist style painting of trees with vibrant blues and greens. 3) Black and white illustration of a face with intricate patterns. 4) Japanese woodblock print style image of a figure in a checkered robe. 5) Photograph of a couple dancing, the woman in a black dress and the man in white

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The Hammer Museum will be closed to the public on Thursday, November 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Digital Archive Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980
Art Betye Saar, To Catch a Unicorn
To Catch a Unicorn, by Betye Saar, 1960

Betye Saar, Artist
To Catch a Unicorn , 1960

Medium
Color etching, Edition 1/20
Dimensions
16 3/4 x 9 1/2 (42.5 x 24.1 cm)
Credit Line
Collection of the artist; courtesy of Roberts Projects, Culver City, California. Photo by Ed Glendinning

Betye Saar is a pioneer of both second-wave feminism and the African American avant-garde, well known today for her assemblage works. To Catch a Unicorn, one of her early explorations of the etching technique, reflects the shifting political and cultural landscape of the early 1960s. The unicorn, a symbol of goodness in Western mythology, can be tamed only by a virgin, and Saar portrayed the virgin as an African American woman.

Past Programs

UCLA Department of Art Lectures: Betye Saar, February 28, 2014