Commissioned by Oprah Winfrey to celebrate Maya Angelou’s 61st birthday, Maya’s Quilt of Life depicts the distinguished author in her signature African-print dress and head wrap walking toward the viewer along a path lined with blossoming spring flowers. Handwritten texts on either side display excerpts from some of Angelou’s most famous works, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas.

Maya’s Quilt of Life celebrates one of the greatest storytellers of the twentieth century. Like Angelou, Ringgold uses her art to illuminate the experience of being a black woman in America. The artist’s painted fabric works, known as story quilts, incorporate text and imagery alongside traditional quilted textile patterns. This approach honors an American craft by expanding on its traditional technique.