Feminist Abstract Prints

The Papillon, the Ray of Hope, 1999 Louise Bourgeois Letterpress and lithograph in colours, on two sheets of smooth wove Arches paper Signed and numbered ...

Faith Ringgold created "Dear Selma..." to honor the Black artist, Selma Burke (1900-1995), who sculpted the original portrait bust of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which was later used on the US dime. She was never credited for her artistic contribution. Ringgold's print acknowledges this injustice in her printed inscription on her print: "Dear Selma, Every time I see a dime I think you. In 1944 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt posed for your portrait plaque of him, little did you know this masterful relief profile would show up without attribution, in the dime in 1945 -- for all the world to see." Faith Ringgold 11/13/10. "Dear Selma..." is a rare print -- #21/65. It is hand signed, numbered, dated, and inscribed; and is embossed with printer's stamp (Raven Fine Art Editions.) It is professionally framed in a black stained wooden dovetailed frame, and floated on archival (acid free) mat board, under glass, with spacers. It is in pristine condition. The print itself measures 30" x 22" and it framed to 35" x 27.25" x 2". Selma Burke (b. Mooresville, NC; D. New Hope, PA) was an African-American sculptor, educated at what is now Winston-Salem State University and trained as a nurse at St. Agnes Hospital Nursing School in Raleigh, NC. Burke moved to New York City and became inspired by the Harlem Renaissance movement emerging around her, and began to focus on art. In 1938, she studied with Aristide Maillol and Henri Matisse in Europe after earning both Rosenwald and Boehler Foundation Fellowships. After completing an MFA at Columbia University in 1941, Burke began to teach art, first at the Harlem Community Art Center and later at schools she founded in New York and Pittsburgh. African-American artist Faith Ringgold earned a bachelor’s degree from City College of the City University of New York in 1955. She then taught art in New York City public schools and worked on a master’s degree at City College, which she completed in 1959. Ringgold’s first solo gallery shows were held in 1967 and 1970 at the cooperative Spectrum Gallery, New York. Retrospectives of her work have been organized by Rutgers University, New Brunswick (1973), the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (1984), and the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, Hempstead (1990). Ringgold’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions devoted to political art, women’s art, contemporary quilts, and African-American art, as well as in the Whitney Biennial (1985). Her achievements as an artist, teacher, and activist have been recognized with numerous honors, including National Endowment for the Arts awards in sculpture (1978) and painting (1989), a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1987), and sixteen honorary doctorates. Exhibited: "Designing Women III: Mother," Egg Collective...