The overall composition of this quilt speaks of the type of improvisation that typifies Gee’s Bend quilts. Did the maker initially plan for it to be completely formed from the narrow strips of dark and light work clothes in the lower two-thirds? Could it be that she added the two plain blocks to the top after finding the lower portion was not long enough to cover a bed? Or was it always her intention to create the dynamic counterpoint between strips and blocks? Unlike some of the other Gee’s Bend quilters, little is known about Campbell. This is one of only two quilts that can be attributed to her.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Blocks and Strips work-clothes quilt
Artist:Emma Lee Pettway Campbell (American, Boykin, Alabama 1928–2002 Boykin, Alabama)
Date:ca. 1950
Medium:Top: cotton and cotton-polyester blend; back: cotton and polyester
Dimensions:90 3/4 × 68 3/4 in. (230.5 × 174.6 cm)
Classification:Textiles
Credit Line:Gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2014
Object Number:2014.548.43
the artist, Gee's Bend, Ala. (until d. 2002); her son, Odell Pettway, Gee's Bend, Ala. (2002–4; in 2004 to Arnett); William S. Arnett, Atlanta (2004–6; his gift in 2006 to Tinwood Alliance); Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta (2006–10; transfer in 2010 to Souls Grown Deep); Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Atlanta (2010–14; their gift to MMA)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," June 4–September 4, 2006, unnumbered cat. (p. 86; 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. 1 (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. 36).
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. 70, ill. p. 86 (color).
Cheryl Finley inMy Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, p. 14.
Amelia Peck inMy Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 75, 106, colorpl. 36.
Roberta Smith. "A Testament to Those Once Neglected." New York Times (May 28, 2018), p. C16, ill. (color).
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.
Karin E. Peterson and Leisa Rundquist. "Valorizing Gee’s Bend Quilts: Affinity, Adjacency, and the Modern Eye." A Companion to Textile Culture. Ed. Jennifer Harris. Newark, 2020, p. 445, fig. 23.2 (color).
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.
Faith Ringgold (American, New York, 1930–2024 Englewood, New Jersey)
1985
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