Joint Museum Preview

Greensburg, PA

Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012), Sharecropper, 1968. Linocut. The Collection of Samella Lewis. © 2025 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Courtesy the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Greensburg, PA
Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Through January 4, 2026
The Art of Elizabeth Catlett from the Collection of Samella Lewis

“Throughout the year, the Westmoreland Museum has brought together a constellation of exhibitions that reclaim space for women artists within the American canon,” says Nicole Lampl, the museum’s curator of American art.

Among these celebrations of women artists is The Art of Elizabeth Catlett from the Collection of Samella Lewis, on view through January 4, diving into the artwork of trailblazing sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett. The artist spent seven decades creating works that honored the dignity and strength of marginalized communities, including powerful depictions of laborers, women and African Americans addressing social issues relevant in both the United States and Mexico.

The exhibition is drawn from the collection of artist and historian Dr. Samella Lewis, who was also Catlett’s former student.

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1880-1980), Sweet Grapes (Bronze Fountain), 1928. Bronze, 20¼ x 55⁄8 in. Courtesy the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Gift of Dr. Michael L. Nieland.

Through March 29, 2026
A Fountain of Forms: The Rise of the American Woman Sculptor, 1910–1929
“A Fountain of Forms: The Rise of the American Woman Sculptor, 1910-1929 explores how early 20th-century women sculptors redefined representations of the female body,” Lampl says.

Featuring 12 bronz sculptures of nude or nearly-nude figures, the exhibition highlights artists like Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, Malvina Hoffman and Janet Scudder, all queer women. Despite the societal constraints of the time, these artists used the nude form to assert their individuality and autonomy in an age of increasing, rapid mechanization and patriarchal control. On view through March 29, 2026, the exhibition draws from Westmoreland’s exceptional sculpture collection, and celebrates the transformative gift from Dr. Michael L. Nieland back in 2015.

“Together, these projects don’t just celebrate women artists,” says Lampl, “they reframe the story of American art itself, expanding the canon and creating space for voices too often left unheard.” —