Betye Saar (American, 1926–2026), "Remember Friendship," 1975. Mixed media, 10 3/4 x 17 1/16 x 1 1/4 in. Crocker Art Museum, gift of the Sacramento Chapter of Links, Inc., 1975.32.

In Memoriam: Betye Saar

August 6, 2026

2 minute read

Exploring the Saar Family’s Ongoing Relationship with the Crocker Art Museum

“Beyte Saar presents 'Remember Friendship' to Richard West, former Crocker Art Museum director,” photograph, The Sacramento Bee, June 9, 1975, Page 2.

Betye Saar, the pioneering Los Angeles artist, passed away Sunday, July 26 at the age of 99, just days before her 100th birthday.

She is most known for reappropriating derogatory depictions of Black people, subverting their original racist narratives, and recasting the figures as heroes or warriors.

Betye Saar exhibited at the Crocker Art Museum in 1974 for the invitational exhibition West Coast 74: The Black Image, alongside Charles White, Mike Henderson, and others. In 1975, she had a significant solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York, one of the first Black women to do so. That same year, the Crocker acquired Remember Friendship, a mixed media artwork that mourns Betye’s beloved aunt, and celebrates her role as a wife, mother, and friend.

Betye would have two solo exhibitions at the Museum in 1980 and 2007, respectively. In 2021, the artwork of Betye and her two daughters, Lezley Saar and Alison Saar, were displayed together in the Museum’s exhibition, Legends from Los Angeles.

Watch Museum curator, Francesca Wilmott, walkthrough the Museum’s 2025 exhibitions Black Artists in America and Making Moves. Both exhibitions featured artworks by Betye, Lezley, and Alison Saar. Wilmott also notes the impact of the Museum’s previous exhibitions West Coast 74 and Legends from Los Angeles. See how the artists explore race, gender, identity, and more across generations of the Saar’s families’ artworks.

Learn more about the Saar family’s artwork included in the Museum’s permanent collection, including Alison Saar’s Hades D.W.P. II, 2016. currently on view.

We remember Betye in friendship. Betye Saar (July 30, 1926 – July 26, 2026).

Image Credits:

“Betye Saar presents Remember Friendship to Richard West, former Crocker Art Museum director,” photograph, The Sacramento Bee, June 9, 1975, Page 2.
Betye Saar (American, 1926–2026), Remember Friendship, 1975. Mixed media, 10 3/4 x 17 1/16 x 1 1/4 in. Crocker Art Museum, gift of the Sacramento Chapter of Links, Inc., 1975.32.