Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold was born on October 8th, 1930 in Harlem, New York. She was raised during the Harlem Renaissance and became very interested in art at a young age. As a young girl, she suffered from asthma so she often stayed home with her mother. Although she missed out on school, her mother was a fashion designer and taught her how to sew and work with fabrics. This was her first introduction to art and design.

Ringgold had many jobs by the time she received her degree in Fine Art and Education in 1955. She and Robert divorced in 1956 and Ringgold looked after her children by herself. During this time, she taught art in the New York City public school system, while simultaneously enrolling in a graduate studies program at City College. She received her Masters degree in art in 1959, which catalyzed the beginning of her art career.

The 1960s were arguably Ringgold’s most defining years. She married Burdette Ringgold on May 19, 1962 and left her teaching job so she could focus on her own artwork. She created a series of paintings called American People that ranks among her most important work. She was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement to capture the racial discrimination through politicized visual media. Paintings such as Neighbors, Die and The Flag Is Bleeding are saturated with bold colors and anguished faces, many with blood streaking the canvasses. The American People series was featured in Ringgold's first solo gallery show in 1967.

Ringgold began a new occupation as a professor emeritus of art at the University of California at San Diego. While she was a professor, she started her writing career. She published the children’s book Tar Beach, a children's story about a young girl who’s dearest dream was to be free and go wherever she wanted, and one day it did come true when the stars helped her to fly across the city. The book won over 20 awards including the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King award for the best-illustrated children’s book of 1991. The quilt that was made for Tar Beach is permanently in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Many of Ringgold’s books were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement including a book about Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman. She has now published more than 15 other children’s books. In 1995, she published her memoir called We Flew Over the Bridge.