Corita Kent Art
Sister Mary Corita Kent, once the nation's best known nun, won fame as a serigraph artist. Her bright, colorful silkscreen prints were the rage of the 1960s. She designed the first "Love" U.S. postage stamp.
Mary Corita Kent was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1918, then moved with her family to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1920. Two years later they moved to Los Angeles, where she grew up. Kent joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary there in 1938. She received her bachelor's degree from Immaculate Heart College in 1941, followed by a master's in art history 10 years later from the University of Southern California.
Popularly known as "Sister Mary Corita," the artist turned to the silkscreen process in 1950. Her large compositions combine quotations, often from the Bible or modern poetry, with religious or secular images. She achieved fame in the early 1960s with her brightly colored silkscreen posters. Some of her work includes excerpts from the writings of Carl Jung, e.e. cummings and Rainer Maria Rilke. She began adding words to her designs because, she said, "I have been nuts about words and their shape since I was very young."
Perhaps becoming a celebrity came too soon for the nun. It was something she never asked to be, but she carried the burdens of stardom with grace, kindness, and loving warmth. She never was arrogant, and accepted the status because she believed it would help the College of the Immaculate Heart — where she was teaching — and she thought it would be good for her community of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Sister Corita became a symbol of the modern nun and was often the target of conservative Catholics, particularly when she turned to regular street dress in 1967.
After more than 30 years as a nun, Kent returned to private life in December 1968, moving to Boston to devote herself to her art, and opening a gallery. For the next 18 years, Kent created over 50 commissions, in addition to over 400 new editions of serigraphs. Special projects included the landmark 150-foot rainbow painting on the Boston Gas Company's natural gas tank, numerous murals, billboards, book covers and book illustrations, logos, greeting cards and more. She also created complete editions of serigraphs for fundraising use by numerous organizations dedicated to peace and social justice. She won dozens of art prizes and saw her work hung in many of the world's major art museums. Critics praised her prints as joyful, exuberant, bold and radiant.
Around 1977, the artist developed cancer, and although her doctor gave her only six months to live, she knew that she had major art pieces to accomplish before she died — nine years later. Kent passed away in 1986, bequeathing her remaining prints, as well as the copyrights to all her works, to support the good work of the Immaculate Heart Community.
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(Biography provided by Helicline Fine Art)
Mid-20th Century American Modern Corita Kent Art
Color, Screen
1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
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Late 20th Century Corita Kent Art
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1980s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1980s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Pencil, Lithograph, Offset
1970s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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20th Century American Modern Corita Kent Art
Color, Lithograph
20th Century American Modern Corita Kent Art
Color, Lithograph
1990s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1980s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Offset
1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
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1980s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Offset
1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Offset
2010s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
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Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Corita Kent Art
Handmade Paper, Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
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1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Color, Offset
1980s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Offset
1960s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Offset
1980s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Offset
1970s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1970s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1980s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1960s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1960s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1970s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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1980s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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20th Century American Modern Corita Kent Art
Color, Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Corita Kent Art
Lithograph, Pencil
Late 20th Century Feminist Corita Kent Art
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
Screen
1970s Contemporary Corita Kent Art
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- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Corita Kent is an American artist known for her work in pop art. A former nun. Corita Kent’s work focused on key themes such as Christianity and social justice Corita Kent primary medium is silk screen and is a self-taught artist. Shop a selection of Corita Kent artwork on 1stDibs.