Faith Ringgold
American, 1930 - 2024
Artist Faith Ringgold challenged the status quo and was unapologetically vocal about racism and sexism. In the 1950s, Ringgold encountered gender-based restrictions at City University of New York. Women were barred from the fine arts department, so Ringgold majored in education instead. In the 1960s, she experienced the civil rights and Black Power movements firsthand. As a result, she defied the conventional concerns of collectors and art critics. The discrimination Ringgold encountered became a driving force in shaping her art.
Between 1963 and 1967, Ringgold completed her well-known American People series, portraying subjects of diverse races, genders, and economic backgrounds. But Ringgold’s best-recognized works may be her story quilts, beginning with Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima? (1983). These quilts offer insightful commentary on societal issues.
Explore Selected Works
See all 12 works of artArtwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.4
Artwork

Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.1-8
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.7
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.2
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.5
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.8
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.3
Artwork

Frontispiece from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Frontispiece from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.1
Artwork

Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Plate from Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Faith Ringgold, Martin Luther King Jr., Limited Editions Club, New York, Curlee Raven Holton · 2007 · screenprint from an illustrated book with eight screenprints · Accession ID 2021.80.27.6
Artwork

Master Artists Master Printmakers
Master Artists Master Printmakers
Wayne Crothers, Emma Amos, Grace Hartigan, Bodo Korsig, Kay WalkingStick, John Dowell, Allan Edmunds, Quentin Mosley, Experimental Printmaking Institute, Various Artists, Richard Anuszkiewicz, David C. Driskell, Sam Gilliam, Faith Ringgold, Curlee Raven Holton, John Phillips, Robert Beckman, Ian Short · 2003 - 2004 · portfolio of fifteen prints with two title pages, two colophons, and one photo-documentation page · Accession ID 2008.82.1.1-15