Bitter+Nest,+Part+II,+The

Date: 1988
 * || Title: **The Bitter Nest, Part II: The Harlem Renaissance Party**

Artist: **Faith Ringgold** Born: New York City 1930

Medium: acrylic on canvas with printed, dyed and pieced fabric Dimensions: 94 x 83 in. (238.8 x 210.8 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase © 1988, Faith Ringgold

Accession: 1997.18 || African American Masters Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum: Faith Ringgold's tumultuous relationship with her two daughters inspired the drama that unfolds in her series entitled //The Bitter Nest//. Referring to the narrative as a “fantasized adaptation of real life,” Ringgold set the story in Harlem during the 1920s. The artist painted the tale of family differences and intrigue on grids and panels of fabric that were then stitched together to form quilt.
 * About the Artwork: **

//The Bitter Nest Part II: Harlem Renaissance Party// recalls craft traditions, which Ringgold learned from her seamstress mother. Since she is known as a fine artist, Ringgold’s incorporation of folk elements is daring, because folk art is often associated with the works of self-taught artists. In the quilt the figures sitting around the table are people Ringgold knew as well as important African-American figures. On the left top to bottom: W.E.B DuBois is next to father Dr. Prince, Meta Warwick Fuller (sculptor), Aaron Douglas (painter), Florence Mills (entertainer), Cece. On the right top to bottom: Richard Wright (writer), Countee Cullen (poet), Zora Neale Hurston (writer), Langston Hughes (writer), Alain L. Locke (writer), mother (Faith Ringgold).

Ringgold is an African-American painter and sculptor. She grew up in Harlem. The people and events of the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Depression inspired some of the artist’s work. Ringgold has traveled widely as well as received numerous awards and honors. Themes in her work often relate to social issues, slavery, feminism, women’s work, craft, and world politics. She is well-known for her quilts. Sewing and quilt making are family traditions. When she was a child, Ringgold watched her great-great-grandmother, Susie Shannon, create quilts. Years before Shannon had been an enslaved house servant. Among other duties she made quilts for the plantation owners.
 * About the Artist: **

Sources: Cameron, Dan, et. all. //Dancing at the Louvre: Faith Ringgold’s French Collection and Other Story Quilts// (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998).

Conwill, Kinshasha Holman. “In Search of an ‘Authentic’ Vision: Decoding the Appeal of Self-Taught African-American Artist,” //American Art 5//, No. 4 (Autumn, 1991), 2-9.

Farrington, Lisa. //Art on Fire: The Politics of Race and Sex in the Paintings of Faith Ringgold// (New York: Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, 1999).

Marter, Joan. “Ringgold, Faith,” //Oxford Art Online//,


 * Resources: **

SAAM Collection page Faith Ringgold Wikipedia Entry
 * Links: **