QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5245

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project; Cuesta Benberry Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

08.0066

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

2008:119.6

Object label:

Joseph's Coat of Many Colors
Freedom Quilting Bee
Gee's Bend, Alabama
1980
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2008:119.6

Essay:

The quilters of rural Gee’s Bend, Alabama first received national attention during the 1960s when they were a part of the Freedom Quilting Bee, a cooperative that sold quilts through outlets that included Bloomingdales and Sears. It was not until 2002, when the quilts were packaged into the exhibition The Quilts of Gee’s Bend and vigorously promoted in the media, that interest in these quilts skyrocketed. Although other exhibitions had exhibited quilts as art and simultaneously revealed the stories of the people and communities who made them, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition is credited with bringing this way of displaying and interpreting quilts to the attention of art and media critics.

By Mary Worrall, from the exhibit Unpacking Collections: the Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, An African American Quilt Scholar.

Quilt's title:

Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Prairie Braid

When was the form filled out?

4/22/08

Quilt top made by:

Bee, Gee's Bend Freedom Quilting

Quilted by:

Bee, Gee's Bend Freedom Quilting

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Gee's Bend

Where the quilt was made, state:

Alabama (AL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt finished?

1980

Why was the quilt made?

Fundraising

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's city:

Gee's Bend

Quiltmaker's state:

Georgia (GA)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

African American

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

38"

How long is the quilt?

55"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Blue; Gold; Green; Pink; Red

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Type of inscription:

Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Freedom Quilting Bee a women's cooperative Alberta, Alabama Made by Lillie. Quilted by Annie.

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on back

Describe the quilt's layout:

Vertical strip

Size of quilt blocks:

2" x 8"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

On point or rotated on 45 degrees

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Same block throughout

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Cream

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Straight grain

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?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

5

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

5

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

In-the-ditch

Where did the maker get their materials?

Sewing scraps

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Traditional pattern variation

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Louisville Celebrates the American Quilt: Always There - The African American Presence in American Quilts. Louisville, KY. February 7-March 31, 1992. Louisville Museum of History and Science.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

This quilt was documented by the Kentucky Quilt Project when it was on display at Louisville Celebrates the American Quilt: Always There - The African American Presence in American Quilts. Louisville, KY. February 7-March 31, 1992. Louisville Museum of History and Science. That entry can be found at, http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?pbd=KentuckyUofL-a0a2o8-a

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.

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

This quilt was collected by Cuesta Benberry to further her research on quiltmaking and/or African American quiltmaking. In 1992, the quilt was loaned to the exhibition: Louisville Celebrates the American Quilt: Always There - The African American Presence in American Quilts. Louisville, KY. February 7-March 31, 1992. Louisville Museum of History and Science. Cuesta's son donated the collection to the Michigan State University Museum when she passed away in 2008. From Cuesta, "I have followed the career of the Freedom Quilting Bee ever since I met them in 1967 when they came to St. Louis for a two week long demostration and sale ast Famous-Barr (a dept. store). I was teaching then, but every day after school, I'd go downtown and sit at the quilting frame with Mrs. Estelle Witherspoon and the other members of the Bee, and just chat until the store closed at 5:30pm."

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