The American People Series 20: Die
The American People Series #20: Die is a 1967 oil on canvas painting by American artist Faith Ringgold.[2] Inspired by Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica (1937) and painted amidst the riots and uprisings of the 1960s, Die is a two-panel work depicting a group of Black and white men, women, and children, most of whom are wounded or covered in blood, variously fighting, fleeing, or dying against an abstract grey background.[1][3] The piece has been extensively cited as among Ringgold's most important and iconic artworks.[3][4][5]
| The American People Series #20: Die | |
|---|---|
 Die in 2018 at the Museum of Modern Art | |
| Artist | Faith Ringgold |
| Year | 1967 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 182.9 cm × 365.8 cm (72 in × 144 in) |
| Location | Museum of Modern Art, New York |
| Accession | 212.2016.a-b[1] |
Description
The painting depicts a group of ten adults and three children in different poses of violence and fear. Starting from the left of the painting, there is a Black adult figure whose lower half and left arm are visible; a crying child being held from the head by a white woman; a Black man strangling a white man who is splayed out; a white woman standing over a seemingly dead white man on the ground and reaching to the right of the painting; a Black child and white child embracing in fear; a seemingly dead Black man; a Black woman reaching toward the left of the painting; a white man pointing a gun toward the second white woman; and a Black man holding a bloody knife at the far right of the painting. Every figure apart from the two embracing children is either wounded or splattered with blood, and each figure is grimacing in fear or anger. The figures are all wearing business attire; the men wear ties and collared shirts, and the women wear cocktail dresses. Behind the figures is a grid made up of varying shades of grey.[1][3]
History
Ringgold was inspired to paint the work in part by her extensive viewing of Pablo Picasso's 1937 painting Guernica during its longterm loan to the Museum of Modern Art in New York that began in 1939.[1] Additionally, Ringgold was inspired by Jacob Lawrence's extensive reimaginings of historical portraiture.[1][3]
Die was shown for the first time at Ringgold's debut solo show in 1968 at Spectrum Gallery in New York.[3]
The Museum of Modern Art acquired the painting in 2016 and subsequently showed it in the museum next to Pablo Picasso's painting Les Demoiselles D'Avignon (1907).[5][3] Die was featured in Ringgold's solo retrospective at the New Museum in 2022.[4]
Reception
Writing in The Washington Post, critic Sebastian Smee said Die "feels prophetically realistic" and that "its citrus palette of pinks and oranges against grays and blacks is nothing short of a masterpiece."[3] Critic Holland Cotter described the work in The New York Times as "an explosive scene" and "a star attraction of the Museum of Modern Art’s much-watched 2019 permanent collection rehang."[4]
References
- "Faith Ringgold, American People Series #20: Die". Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- "The American People Series #20: Die, 1967". Faith Ringgold. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- Smee, Sebastian (12 February 2020). "American carnage". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- Cotter, Holland (17 February 2022). "Faith Ringgold's Path of Maximum Resistance". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- Russeth, Andrew (26 July 2016). "MoMA Acquires and Hangs a Major Early Faith Ringgold". ARTnews. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.