In this classic work-clothes quilt, which Mingo pieced together from the remainders of worn garments, note the outlines of back pockets removed from pairs of pants or overalls. Pants backs were preferable for use in quilts, because the fronts were often worn out from kneeling while farming. When old quilts became too threadbare to function, they were sometimes reused as quilt filling. Mingo explained, "I made this old block quilt out of pants and shirt tops, and scraps from the shirt factory in Linden."
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the artist, Gee's Bend, Ala. (1959–2000; in 2000 to Arnett); William S. Arnett, Atlanta (2000–2002; his gift in 2002 to Tinwood Alliance); Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta (2002–10; transfer in 2010 to Souls Grown Deep); Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Atlanta (2010–14; their gift to MMA)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," September 8–November 10, 2002, unnumbered cat. (p. 68; lent by the William Arnett Collection of the Tinwood Alliance).
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," November 21, 2002–March 9, 2003, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," June 4–September 4, 2006, unnumbered cat. (p. 82; lent by the Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta).
Indianapolis Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," October 8–December 31, 2006, unnumbered cat.
Orlando Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," January 28–April 22, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Baltimore. Walters Art Museum. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," June 17–August 26, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Tacoma, Wash. Tacoma Art Museum. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," September 25–December 9, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," December 23, 2007–March 16, 2008, unnumbered cat.
Denver Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," April 13–July 6, 2008, unnumbered cat.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," August 2–October 2, 2008, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "History Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift," May 22–September 23, 2018, unnumbered cat. (pl. 30).
Joanne Cubbs inGee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Ed. Paul Arnett, Joanne Cubbs, and Eugene W. Metcalf Jr. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Atlanta, 2006, p. 71, ill. p. 82 (color).
Amelia Peck inMy Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 67, 107, colorpl. 30, ill. p. 8 (color detail).
Mario Naves. "History Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift." New Criterion 37 (September 2018), p. 38.
Karen Wilkin. "A Visual Equivalent of Jazz." Wall Street Journal (May 31, 2018), p. A13.
Fellow Aleesa Alexander writes on how Ronald Lockett's assemblages weave together themes of race, class, labor, gender, politics, geography, and illness into profound works of art.
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