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Honeycomb Quilt
Artist / Origin: Elizabeth Van Horne Clarkson (American, 1771–1852)
Region: North America
Date: ca. 1830
Period: 1800 CE – 1900 CE
Material: Cotton
Medium: Textiles and Fiber Arts
Dimensions: H: 107 5/8 in. (273.4 cm.), W: 98 ¼ in. (249.6 cm.)
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Moore
Blocks, Strips, Strings, and Half-Squares Quilt
Artist / Origin: Mary Lee Bendolph (American, b. 1935), Gee’s Bend Quilter’s Collective, Gee’s Bend, AL
Region: North America
Date: 2005
Period: 1900 CE – 2010 CE
Material: Cotton
Medium: Textiles and Fiber Arts
Dimensions: H: 84 in. (213.4 cm.), W: 81 in. (205.7 cm.)
Location: Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Credit: Gee’s Bend Foundation/Collection of the Tinwood Alliance/ Photo Courtesy of Stephen Pitkin, Pitkin Studio, Rockford, IL
Because they served practical functions and were not made of particularly durable material, many of the blankets, covers, and quilts created in past eras have been lost to us. Because those textiles have traditionally been the domain of women and associated primarily with the home, the ones that have survived have not always received the kind of attention their artistry and skill demand. A comparison of Elizabeth Van Horne Clarkson’s quilt with Mary Lee Bendolph’s raises many questions about not just art, but also art history.