QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5260

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Human Rights; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project; Cuesta Benberry Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

08.0079

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

2008:119.19

Object label:

Kiss 1, Kiss 2
Faith Ringgold
Englewood, New Jersey
1987
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2008:119.19

Essay:

Internationally known artist Faith Ringgold and quilt historian Cuesta Benberry were longtime friends. When Cuesta curated an exhibition of African American quilts for the St. Louis Art Museum she included a loaned Faith Ringgold quilt. Later, the Museum commissioned Ringgold to make a quilt for its collection. The Museum told Benberry that the commission was done in honor of her, as her exhibit had been the first African American quilt exhibit held at the museum.

When Ringgold later traveled to St. Louis, Benberry’s hometown, for the installation of the quilt she made in honor of St. Louis native Josephine Baker, she also brought this quilt as a surprise gift for Cuesta. Benberry said “It was truly a surprise, and a joyous one, too.”

Cuesta Benberry was one of the twentieth-century pioneers of research on American quiltmaking and was the pioneer of research on African American quiltmaking. She was a founding member of the American Quilt Study Group, was inducted into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame in 1983, was among the first honorees of Faith Ringgold’s Anyone Can Fly Foundation, and is a Quilt Treasure in the on-line multi-media project of Michigan State University Museum and the Quilt Alliance. In mid 2008, Michigan State University Museum was gifted with the extraordinary Cuesta Benberry African and African American Quilt and Quilt History Collection. A fundraising campaign is now underway to make this collection electronically accessible and to support research and educational use of the collection.

By Mary Worrall

Quilt's title:

Kiss 1, Kiss 2

Owner's name for the quilt:

from the Love Letter Series

When was the form filled out?

4/22/08

Quilt top made by:

Ringgold, Faith

Quilted by:

Ringgold, Faith

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Englewood

Where the quilt was made, state:

New Jersey (NJ)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt finished?

1987

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression; Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

From Cuesta, "Faith and I have been friends for many years. When I curated an African American quilt exhibition for the St. Louis Art Museum, I had a "borrowed Faith Ringgold quilt" in it. Her quilt attracted a great deal of attention. The St. Louis Art M

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Englewood

Quiltmaker's state:

New Jersey (NJ)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's birth date:

10/8/1930

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

African American

Quiltmaker's educational background:

MA. Honorary PhDs

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Professor of Art at the University of California, San Diego

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Jones, Sr., Andrew Louis

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Jones, Willi Posey

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

African American

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Wallace, Robert, Earl; Ringgold, Burdette

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Faith Ringgold organized a foundation called the "Anyone Can Fly Foundation," in Englewood, NJ, to encourage women to succeed. She is an artist of note whose work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Guggen

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

52"

How long is the quilt?

41 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Gray; Pink; Red; Teal

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Type of inscription:

Signature; Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Faith Ringgold

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1987

Method used to make the inscription:

Ink

Location of inscription:

on back

Describe the quilt's layout:

Nontraditional or art

Number of quilt blocks:

2 medallions, 17" x 23 1/2", 18 hour glass blocks, 7" x 8 1/2"

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

1 1/2" pieced stripes

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

Moire duck canvas upholstery weight cotton hand-dyed cotton fabrics

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Ink drawing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Description of the back:

Chintz

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Describe the back:

Print

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Describe the binding:

Chintz

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

half inch - one inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

In-the-ditch

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

January - April 2009, Michigan Quilt Project Showcase, Michigan State University Museum.

Source of the information on this quilt:

MSU Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This quilt was collected by Cuesta Benberry to further her research on quiltmaking and/or African American quiltmaking. Her son donated the collection to the Michigan State University Museum when she passed away in 2007.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees