"ART CAN BE MORE THAN A PICTURE ON THE WALL… IT CAN BE MAGICAL!"

RINGGOLD, Faith. Dinner at Aunt Connie's House. New York: Hyperion, 1993. Large square quarto, original pictorial laminated paper boards, original dust jacket. $250.

First edition of the award-winning artist's third book for children, wonderfully inscribed in silver ink by her in the year of publication, "To H— anyone can fly S— ! Faith Ringgold Sept. 19, 1993," featuring over 20 full-page color illustrations by her.

Ringgold's Dinner at Aunt Connie's House tells the story of "Melody, an African-American girl in search of a role model. The child is entranced by stories that her aunt, a painter, weaves at the dinner table. One day Aunt Connie's tales take on a life of their own, when portraits she has done of women prominent in black history (Rosa Parks, Dorothy Dandridge, Bessie Smith, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Marian Anderson among them) come to life and take turns telling Melody and her cousin about their struggles" (Chicago Tribune). "The heart of the book—the pages in which the women tell their stories—is at once a magical and a ringing affirmation of their achievements" (Publishers Weekly). Ringold's book is based on her 1986 story quilt, The Dinner Quilt, which is also pictured herein. The book's vibrant focus on 12 African American women expresses Ringgold's "belief that art can be more than a picture on a wall—it can envision our history… what's more, it can be magical!"

Only tiny bit of edge-wear to colorful dust jacket. A fine inscribed copy.