Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold (1930–2024) was an American artist, author, and activist whose story quilts, paintings, and children’s books addressed race, gender, and American history.

Tar Beach: A 1988 story quilt by Faith Ringgold about a girl imagining freedom above Harlem. This signature work became the basis of Ringgold’s celebrated children’s book.
Story quilt: A quilt that combines textile construction with a visual or written narrative. Ringgold’s story quilts place painted scenes within fabric borders and handwritten text.
Harlem: A neighborhood in Upper Manhattan that became a major center of Black cultural and political life. Ringgold’s childhood in Harlem shaped the settings and communities depicted in her work.
Robert Blackburn: An American printmaker who founded the Printmaking Workshop in New York City. Blackburn collaborated with Ringgold on prints and helped expand her printmaking practice.
Where We At Black Women Artists: A collective of Black women artists founded in New York in 1971. Ringgold helped organize the group to address the exclusion of Black women from galleries and museums.
American People Series #20: Die: A 1967 painting by Faith Ringgold depicting Black and white people caught in a scene of racial violence. The painting confronts racial conflict before Ringgold turned prominently to story quilts.
Quilting: The process of stitching layers of fabric together, often to make a bedcover or textile artwork. Ringgold adopted quilting as both a material practice and a narrative structure.
Andrew Lawrence: A New York City teacher who taught Faith Ringgold painting at the High School of Music & Art. His instruction helped launch Ringgold’s formal study of art.
Michele Wallace: An American writer and cultural critic whose work examined Black feminism and popular culture. Wallace, Ringgold’s daughter, wrote influential criticism that engaged with her mother’s art and politics.
Ad Hoc Women Artists’ Committee: A feminist group formed in New York in 1970 to protest the exclusion of women from museum exhibitions. Ringgold’s activism with the committee challenged discriminatory practices at the Whitney Museum.

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