Tar Beach

Faith Ringgold
1988
Quilt with acrylic on canvas

 

Background Information

Faith Ringgold (b. 1930) is an artist from New York City. Raised in Harlem, she worked as a public school teacher and college instructor, and has also written and illustrated children’s books.
Tar Beach is a story quilt that shows the fantasies of its narrator and heroine Cassie Louise Lightfoot. In Tar Beach, Cassie is flying over the city as her family has a picnic on the top of their New York City apartment building.