Roberta Lee Barnes
Crazy Quilt with Wheel Motifs
1886-1887
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Roberta Lee Barnes
Crazy Quilt with Wheel Motifs
1886-1887
Physical Qualities
Silk, including silk velvet and ribbons, cotton velveteen, silk and cotton embroidery threads, copper alloy strips, oil paint, silk cording, silk lining, 71 x 61-1/4 in. (180.4 x 155.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Gladys Fulton and Jean Fulton Hiss
Object Number
1973.74.1
Baltimorean Roberta Lee Barnes combined crazy patchwork with a more traditional wheel design similar to the popular “Dresden Plate” quilt pattern to create this dramatic crazy quilt, which she emblazoned with her initials. Although heavily embroidered, much of this quilt’s charm comes from the inclusion of numerous painted and printed designs. While some women saw painting on fabric as a quick alternative to embroidery, others thought that painted designs provided a prettier look for less work. For those without innate ability, a painted effect could be achieved quickly by using a hot iron to transfer designs preprinted in oil colors on paper onto the cloth.
Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1973;Gladys Fulton and Jean Fulton Hiss (Mrs. John B. Hiss), by inheritance; Roberta Lee Barnes Baltimore, MD.
American Crazy Quilts
Rebecca Juliette, "Getting Jiggy with it, " B'more Art, July 22, 2015, http://bmoreart.com/2015/07/getting-jiggy-with-it.html
McMorris,Penny. Crazy Quilts, N.Y.: E.P. Dutton, 1984, pp. 82-83, fig. 100 and 100a.
Brick, Cindy. Crazy Quilts: History, Techniques, Embroidery Motifs. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press, 2008.
Kiracofe,Roderick, The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950, N.Y.: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1993, p. 191, fig. 192.
Virginia Consortium of Quilters, Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899: The Birth of America Through the Eye of a Needle, Atglen, PA: Schiffer ublishing Lted., 2006, pp. 128-129, Detail of block with overlappng initials "C", 'V","B" resembles font of this quilt's initials.
Peck, Amelia. American Quilts & Coverlets in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dutton Studio Books, 1990, pp. 94-97,
p. 191, p. 208.
Safford Carleton L.and Bishop, Robert. America's Quilts and Coverlets, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1972, pp. 296-303.
Houck, Carter. The Quilt Encyclopedia Illustrated, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991, pp. 179-178.
Gunn, Virginia. 'Crazy Quilts and Outline Quilts: Popular Responses to the Decorative Art/Art Needlework Movement, 1876-1893,' Uncoverings 1984, Ed. Sally Garoutte, Mill Valley, CA: American Quilt Study Group, 1985, pp. 131-152.
Brick, Cindy. Crazy Quilts: History, Techniques, Embroidery Motifs. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press, 2008.
Kiracofe,Roderick, The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950, N.Y.: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1993, p. 191, fig. 192.
Virginia Consortium of Quilters, Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899: The Birth of America Through the Eye of a Needle, Atglen, PA: Schiffer ublishing Lted., 2006, pp. 128-129, Detail of block with overlappng initials "C", 'V","B" resembles font of this quilt's initials.
Peck, Amelia. American Quilts & Coverlets in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dutton Studio Books, 1990, pp. 94-97,
p. 191, p. 208.
Safford Carleton L.and Bishop, Robert. America's Quilts and Coverlets, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1972, pp. 296-303.
Houck, Carter. The Quilt Encyclopedia Illustrated, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991, pp. 179-178.
Gunn, Virginia. 'Crazy Quilts and Outline Quilts: Popular Responses to the Decorative Art/Art Needlework Movement, 1876-1893,' Uncoverings 1984, Ed. Sally Garoutte, Mill Valley, CA: American Quilt Study Group, 1985, pp. 131-152.
Inscribed: Embroidered in the center of the quilt are three initials: 'RLB' overlapping one another worked in coral, red, and yellow threads in satin stitch. Written on a piece of cloth sewn to the upper right front corner (now removed and stored in an envelope in object folder: "Gladys Fulton/2775 Calvert St")
Maker
Roberta Lee Barnes
1864–1864
American, born 1865, active Baltimore until c.1940
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