LUCY T. PETTWAY, (American, 1921–2004), “Birds in the Air,” 1981 (cotton and cotton-polyester blend). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2017.70. © Estate of Lucy T. Pettway
Opening Soon previews works from noteworthy, forthcoming exhibitions
DRAWN FROM THE COLLECTION of the High Museum of Art and showcasing a number of recent acquisitions, “Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection” explores the contributions of Black female quilt artists to the history of abstraction. All 17 quilts featured in the exhibition were made by artists in the Southeastern United States—including Gee’s Bend, Ala., quilters such as Mary Lee Bendolph, Louisiana Bendolph, Lucy T. Pettway, and Annie Mae Young; Marquetta Johnson and other Atlanta, Ga.-based quilters; and unidentified artists active in the early 20th century. The presentation reflects a sharp uptick in acquisitions since 2017, increasing the museum’s holdings of quilts by Black women five-fold, now numbering more than 50. CT
“Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection” is on view at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., from June 28-Jan. 5, 2024
ANNIE MAE YOUNG (American, 1928–2013), “Lazy Gal (Work-Clothes Quilt),” 2002 (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Purchase with funds from Peggy, Margaret, and Mary Rawson Foreman and Gift of the artist and the Tinwood Alliance in honor of Rawson Foreman, 2005.304. © Estate of Annie Mae Young
“My hope is that this exhibition can help shift the conversation about quilters as artists who made things that don’t just look like abstract art but are abstract art. Quilters deserve credit for making the same kinds of choices about form, color and symbolic meaning as those typically male and white artists who we have historically privileged as the innovators of abstraction.”
— High Museum of Art Senior Curator Katherine Jentleson
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled (Housetop Quilt with Multiple Borders), circa 1940s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Purchase through funds provided by patrons of the Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.183
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled (Directional Triangles Quilt), circa 1930s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Purchase through funds provided by patrons of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.184
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled, circa 1910s–1920s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Gift of Corrine Riley on the occasion of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.182
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled, circa 1930s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Gift of Corrine Riley on the occasion of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.185
MARQUETTA JOHNSON (American, born 1955), “Nine Patch,” 2016–2018 (hand-dyed and hand-painted cotton fabric). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Gift of the artist, 2022.204
ANNIE MAE YOUNG (American, 1928–2013), “Housetop Variation,” undated (fabric). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2017.79. © Estate of Annie Mae Young
LOUISIANA BENDOLPH (American, born 1960), “Bricklayer Variation,” 2003 (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2017.31
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled, circa 1920s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Gift of Corrine Riley on the occasion of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.198
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled, circa 1940s (cotton). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Purchased through funds provided by patrons of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.188
MAKER ONCE KNOWN, Untitled (Triangles Pieced into Broken Stars Quilt), circa 1940s (cotton and work clothes). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Gift of Corrine Riley on the occasion of Collectors Evening, 2017, 2017.181
BOOKSHELF
“Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories” accompanied a landmark exhibition featuring nearly 60 works, spanning 400 years by Americans of African, Latino, European, and Native descent, including Harriet Powers, Faith Ringgold, Bisa Butler, Sanford Biggers, Michael C. Thorpe, Irene Williams, and Gee’s Bend artist Creola Pettway. “Women’s Work: From feminine arts to feminist art” explores the work of a variety of artists, including the women of Gee’s Bend, Faith Riggold, Dindga McCannon, Otobong Nkanga, Tschabalala Self, and Billy Zangewa. “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” was published a dozen years ago and documents the collective’s first traveling museum exhibition. Additional publications about the storied Alabama artists include, “Gee’s Bend: The Women and Their Quilts” and “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt.” Also consider, “Bisa Butler: Portraits” and “Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today,” which has become hard to find. “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” is for young readers.
