In this quilt, Kennedy used the traditional Log Cabin pattern in a completely unconventional manner. Each block is constructed of narrow strips of fabric in shades of blue-green that meet on the diagonal with white strips. Rather than using the blocks to form a symmetrical and ordered overall pattern, as in Log Cabin quilts made in other areas, Kennedy chose to place her blocks in a way that creates a streak of white lightning coursing down the left side. The blue-green triangles are more predominant on the right side.
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the artist, Gee's Bend, Ala. (until d. 1991; by descent to Williams); Andrea P. Williams (1991–2001; in 2001 to Arnett); William S. Arnett, Atlanta (2001–2; 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. 239; 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. 55; lent by 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.
Nashville. Frist Center for the Visual Arts. "Creation Story: Gee's Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial," May 25–September 3, 2012, no. 8 (lent by the Souls Grown Deep Foundation).
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. 32).
John Beardsley inGee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Ed. William Arnett and Paul Arnett. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Atlanta, 2002, p. 218, ill. p. 239 (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. 70, 107, colorpl. 32.
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.
Loretta Pettway (American, born Boykin, Alabama 1942)
ca. 1960
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