Adrien Rothschild began her artistic career as a photographer and painter. She took up quilt making in 1978, and in 1985 decided to pursue this genre full time. Inspired by the mountains she encountered during bicycle and camping trips in New Zealand, Canada, and West Virginia, Rothschild developed a unique formula for exploring her recurring theme of forested mountains. Using a diamond-shaped block composed of narrow strips of cloth, she manipulates colors to create geometric landscapes. In Purple Mountains, she uses 83 graduated shades of numerous hues to form a pictorial image of the sun poised between two mountain peaks. Influences on Rothschild’s art include an early fascination with the optical effect of Amish quilts, the designs of M.C. Escher, and the paintings by her mother, Baltimore artist Amalie Rothschild.