Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflected Black identity, has died at 99

Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflects Black identity, culture and spirituality, died Sunday morning in Los Angeles at 99. A central figure of the 1960s Black Art Movement, Saar pioneered assemblage boxes, or sculptures made of found objects, and reclaimed Jim Crow-era memorabilia as powerful totems of Black liberation. “Among the older generation of Black American artists, Saar is without reproach.” “There weren’t that many galleries in Los Angeles at the time and there certainly weren’t any for Black artists,” she once said in an interview. Saar taught and mentored generations of Black artists, including painter Kerry James Marshall.