Faith Ringgold, Who Revealed the Beauty of Black Culture to the World Through Her Art, Passes Away at 93

Faith Ringgold, a talented artist known for her beautiful quilts that tell stories about Black American life, passed away at 93 on April 13 at her home in New Jersey.

Besides quilts, Ringgold also made paintings, sculptures, masks, dolls, and other art that talked about things like race, gender, and family.

Her daughter, Barbara Wallace, confirmed her death to the New York Times. Ringgold started her career in the 1960s and ’70s, making art about important issues like how people of different races and genders are treated in America.

Even though people liked her art from the start, it took a long time for big museums to show it. Ringgold thought this was because she focused on showing things like fairness and because she was a Black woman.

But Ringgold believed art should be for everyone. She once said to the Orlando Sentinel in 1992, “Art seemed to me an arena open to anyone.” She didn’t know then that people could make art without others even knowing.

Faith Ringgold Advocacy Through Art

One of her most famous artworks is a quilt called “Tar Beach,” finished in 1988. It inspired a children’s book with the same name in 1991, telling the story of a Black family having fun on their rooftop in Harlem. 

The book won awards for showing Black American life well to kids.

Ringgold got ideas for her art from many places, like books by James Baldwin and African art. She also protested to get museums to show art by Black people and women.

In 1980, she made her first big quilt, “Echoes of Harlem,” with her mom.

 She thought quilts were important to Black Americans because, long ago, slaves made them when they couldn’t practice their own traditions.

Over the years, Ringgold’s art became famous, and important people like Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey collected it. 

Her art is now in big museums, and in 2022, there was a special show about her in New York City.

Ringgold’s art touched many people’s lives and helped them understand important things about Black culture and history.

 She believed that art could speak to everyone, no matter their background.

In her later years, Ringgold received recognition for her lifelong dedication to art and activism. 

She was honored as one of the most influential people in the world in 2022, showing that her impact reached far and wide.

Ringgold is survived by her daughters, Barbara and Michelle Wallace, and their families. Her husband, Burdette Ringgold, passed away in 2020.