Corita Kent’s Birthday Celebrated With Google Doodle

Google celebrated Corita Kent’s birthday with a special Google Doodle on Thursday, Nov. 11, which would have been her 96th birthday.

Sister Corita Kent Would Have Been 96

Kent made a name for herself as a nun who, in addition to becoming chairman of the Immaculate Heart College Art Department, used her art as an outlet for civil rights activism. Throughout the 1960s, Kent created colorful prints often based on popular images or song lyrics that advocated for peace at the time of the Vietnam War.

“I am not brave enough to not pay my income tax and risk going to jail. But I can say rather freely what I want to say with my art,” Kent said.

In 1968, Kent abandoned her position at Immaculate Heart and her position as a nun, instead choosing to focus completely on her art. In addition to working on commissions, creating book covers and other works, Kent continued to use her art for good causes, designing posters for various charities, including Amnesty International. She died of cancer in 1986.

“[Kent] is credited with being a significant figure in American graphic arts and the very first large-scale survey of her work was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland last summer,” wrote the New York Observer.