I first became aware of Winfred Rembert's vivid and expressive artwork by way of a jigsaw puzzle of his "Dirty Spoon Cafe," where African American people were enjoying a blues band and dancing, in splendid attire, lots of cad red, turquoise, orange, green, and primary yellow -- this made a memorable jigsaw puzzle and one that was fast and fun to complete.

Later I checked out this book to learn about his story. In short, Rembert's life as a self-taught artist began in the Jim Crow South, experiencing and surviving a difficult childhood and enduring brutality in the state prison system. Yet, he met his wife, retained his strength and spirit, and learned how to work with leather from another inmate who was serving a long term. Later he moved to Connecticut with his family, but steady employment was hard to come by. His wife Patsy suggested that he use his leather working skill to create art. Eventually, Rembert was "discovered" and his work displayed at the Yale Art Museum. His figurative work resembles Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence, to be sure, but has a life and vitality all its own. His life story is told in this book, richly illustrated with his artwork. 

The Dirty Spoon Cafe, dye on carved and tooled leather by Winfred Rembert, 2002 (50 3/4 by 37 inches).