Pamela Studstill
#76
1987
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Pamela Studstill
#76
1987
Physical Qualities
Hand dyed and hand painted cotton, 49 3/4 x 61 3/4 in. (126.4 x 156.8 cm.)
Credit Line
The Jane and Worth B. Daniels Jr. Fund
Object Number
2013.310
Small rectangular quilt pieced from hand dyed and hand painted commercial fabrics. The quilt top is designed with 210 block units overall, each approximately 3-3/4" square cut from a range of plain-woven cotton fabrics dyed in lavendar, cinnamon brown, raspberry, gold, etc. The field of the quilt includes 154 blocks, arranged in a grid with 11 vertical and 14 hoizontal blocks. A border of an additional line of blocks of the same size surrounds the field on all sides. These blocks are divided by pieced strips each about 5/8" wide, creating a type of zigzag grid. The quilt changes in design and coloration from bottom to top with the bottom portion being darker and gradually grading to a lighter color at the top. Approximately three definite color registers can be seen within the field. The overlaying grid starts with pale blues, lilacs, creams, and peaches at top of quilt and grade to vivid blues, oranges, reds, greens, yellows in the center, and progress to dark greens, browns, turquoises, and blacks at the bottom. The border blocks are also divided by pieced bars down the center and on diagonals. The background fabric of the larger blocks are also striped with narrow (1/4") lines of various colors of paint including many hues and metallic gold, blue, and violet-red.
The quilt back is composed of one piece of lavender cotton. All piecing is by machine, but quilting is by hand. The batting material is unknown. The binding is pieced together from the same fabrics forming the background of the quilt but cut on the bias and sewn to the edge, falling approximately 1/4" on both front and back of the quilt. Quilting consists mostly of running stitch outlining pieced sections, thus creating chevrons through much of the quilt. The quilt is equipped with a Velcro tape attached by machine to a wide twill tape which is applied to the reverse of the quilt by hand stitching.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 2013 from Robert Shaw, VT; ex. collection Lillian Epstein, possibly New Jersey
Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Arrivals: Art Quilts," December 16, 2015 - June 19, 2016.
Inscribed: Embroidered in lavender (?) threads at the lower right of the quilt: "STUDSTILL/ #76/ 1988" Written by Pamela Studstill on card with fabric swatches mounted to reverse of the framed design: "Background fabrics- These will be painted in stripes of yellows, oranges, rusts, grays, gold, etc. Bars, constructed of squares will start with pale blues, lilacs, creams + peaches at top of quilt and grade to dark greens, browns, turquoises, etc. at the bottom."