Faith Ringgold

(American, 1930–2024)

Faith Ringgold is an American artist best known for her colorful abstractions which often depict themes from American history and politics. Often associated with her ties to feminism, postcolonialist critique, and activism, she addresses controversial subject matter through a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, performance, and quilt work, as seen in her works Flag for the Moon (1969) and Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima (1983). The artist is also known for her children’s books, which she writes and illustrates, such as Tar Beach (1991) and We Came to America (2016) and was awarded a Caldecott Medal in 1992. Born October 8, 1930 in Engelwood, NJ, Ringgold enrolled at the City College of New York to study fine arts, however was rejected by the male-only program and instead studied education. During her time at City College, she independently studied alongside several emerging artists including Robert Gwathmey, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Robert Blackburn, who she later collaborated with on a series of prints. Soon after, Ringgold spent time in Europe and was inspired to create her series French Collection of decorative quilts, which included one of her most famous works, Dancing at the Louvre. In 1967, she gained critical attention for her painting American People Series #20: Die, which depicted race warfare in the style of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Today, the artist’s work is held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Baltimore Museum of Art, among others. Ringgold lives and works in Englewood, NJ.