In 2026, Saar was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and remained actively engaged in the art world into her 90s, with exhibitions such as Let’s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar at Robert Projects.

Growing up in Pasadena and Altadena amid a Black artist community, she drew early inspiration from Watts Towers and Simon Rodia, shaping a lifelong practice.

Saar's expansive practice spanned painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed-media assemblage, mentoring a generation of Black artists including Kerry James Marshall.

Her method often involved collecting discarded flea-market objects to critique consumer culture and infuse them with new meaning through recycling.

Her work traversed assemblage, printmaking, and film, addressing family, spirituality, and broad contextual themes—environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical.

She is survived by three daughters, several grandchildren, and a red-footed tortoise named Rojo.

From the late 1990s, she revisited and updated earlier themes, using vintage washboards and related objects to explore Black women's past and present struggles.

The Aunt Jemima works, including a 1972 piece responding to MLK Jr.'s assassination, reflect her shift from rage to warrior imagery and her ongoing effort to reclaim negative stereotypes for empowerment.

Relatives confirmed her death; she would have turned 100 this week.

Her windowpane assemblage Black Girl’s Window (1969) layered astrological imagery with a grandmother’s daguerreotype to express ancestral and spiritual yearning.

Saar believed old objects carry power and spirit, guiding her practice as she created magical, intimate worlds.

Her landmark works Black Girl’s Window (1969) and The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) rewired racist imagery toward empowerment, with MoMA later acquiring Black Girl’s Window, highlighting her wide impact.