Tamara Madden Boxed Notecard Set: Her Coat of Many Colors

In every quilted patch and gilded headdress, Tamara Natalie Madden made a quiet declaration: the people of the African diaspora are descendants of royalty. This boxed notecard set brings four of her most beloved paintings into your hands, transforming everyday correspondence into an act of cultural celebration. Whether you are sending a thank-you note, a birthday wish, a word of encouragement, or simply a "thinking of you" message, these cards carry the weight of meaning that ordinary stationery cannot.

The set features twenty blank notecards (five each of four designs) showcasing Madden's signature style: rich Black figures adorned in elaborate patchwork garments, crowned in gold leaf, and accompanied by birds that the artist used as personal symbols of freedom and healing. Each card is a small, mailable masterpiece.

Tamara Natalie Madden (1975 to 2017) was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and raised between her homeland and the United States. After surviving a kidney transplant made possible by her brother's gift in 2001, she committed herself fully to painting, eventually becoming a professor of art and visual culture at Spelman College in Atlanta. Her influences included Gustav Klimt, Milwaukee artist Ras Ammar Nsoroma, African royalty, and the textiles of native African and Indian women. Birds appear throughout her work as symbols of her freedom from illness, and her use of quilted patchwork honors the African American quilting tradition and its strong historical connection to African ancestry. Madden's work is held in the permanent collections of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Alverno College in Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, and the Bridgeman Art Library in London.

The four featured artworks include:

Her Coat of Many Colors (2010), the title piece and cover image, depicts a regal Black woman crowned with an elaborate gold scrollwork headpiece. She wears a stunning patchwork overcoat in vibrant reds, oranges, golds, and blues, with small golden birds soaring through the background. The garment honors the African American quilting tradition, while the figure carries herself with the quiet authority of nobility.

Conqueror depicts a figure in profile, gazing toward something beyond the viewer, crowned with an intricate, gold-braided headdress that recalls the military regalia of leaders throughout history. A hummingbird hovers nearby, and a richly patterned patchwork collar frames her shoulders. Madden described this piece as the first in her Guardians series and her most fulfilling work in that body.

Earth Queen portrays a woman crowned with a gold laurel-leaf wreath of six separate leaves, symbolizing her connection to the earth and her roots. She wears gold hoop earrings, a contemporary touch familiar to many Black women, and gently holds a golden egg given to her by a bird perched on her hand. The patchwork garment echoes the quilts of the African diaspora.

Lamentation pour Haïti offers a moment of devotion: a woman in prayer, rosary in hand, crowned with a gold halo and accompanied by a blue bird at her shoulder. The piece honors Haitian spiritual life and the strength carried through faith.

Each notecard is printed in full color on premium 250 gsm card stock, using soy-based inks on FSC-certified paper. The set arrives in a sturdy decorative box with 20 soft white envelopes, ready for gifting or keeping on your desk whenever the moment to write someone calls. This is a thoughtful gift for art lovers, Spelman alumnae, Jamaican diaspora family and friends, collectors of African American art, or anyone who believes a handwritten note deserves a beautiful vessel.