Quilts for Sale
Quilts of Gee's Bend
"...Some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced. Imagine Matisse and Klee (if you think I'm wildly exaggerating, see the show) arising not from rarefied Europe, but from the caramel soil of the rural South in the form of women, descendants of slaves when Gee's Bend was a plantation. These women, closely bound by family and custom (many Benders bear the slaveowner's name, Pettway), spent their precious spare time -- while not rearing children, chopping wood, hauling water and plowing fields -- splicing scraps of old cloth to make robust objects of amazingly refined, eccentric abstract designs. The best of these designs, unusually minimalist and spare, are so eye-poppingly gorgeous that it's hard to know how to begin to account for them. But then, good art can never be fully accounted for, just described."
Michael Kimmelman ( New York Times November 29, 2002 )
Quilts in this Collection:
"Rehobeth is a fifth, impromptu neighborhood removed from Gee's Bend by a stretch of County Road 29 that runs through largely unoccupied forests. Some of Rehobeth's inhabitants were born there and remained there. Others began life in Gee's Bend and married "up the road" or moved to Rehoboth to get a little closer to jobs and "civilization". Rehobeth is all about "the road". A Rehobeth quilt is much more difficult to define than one from Gee's Bend for Rehobeth's quiltmakers are not as likely to possess common ancestors or shared aesthetic traditions. But the area has produced a number of outstanding artists, possibly as many as the Bend itself. In recent years, Rehobeth and vicinity have been home to Annie Mae Young, Flora Moore, Willie "Ma Willie" Abrams, Gearldine Westbrook, Mary Spencer, Florine Smith, Mensie Lee Pettway, Ameruica Irby, Polly Bennett, Aestean P. Young, Katie Ma e Pettway, Mertlene Perkins, and several others." (p.125, "Gee's Bend, The Architecture of the Quilt" publication; section titled "A Dirt Road in Rehobeth".)
Pinwheel Variation
Made by Florine Smith (1948- ); undated, c. 2005's . Signed on back in black marker. Size: 92"x93"
Available $3,800
Order...
This group of quilts was purchased by a private collector from the women of Gee's Bend through Bill Arnett more than ten years ago. This same collector has also assembled and donated a significant folkart collection to his local art museum, where he has been actively involved for many years. These quilts represent the work of most of the well-known quiltmakers and some of their families. Many of the quilts were made early in their careers. This is your opportunity to own one of these treasures from the amazing quiltmakers from Gee's Bend. They have not been offered publicly until now.
«Z»
Made by Lucy Mingo (1931- ); 1980's . Random fabrics, prints & solids . Size: 95" x 85".
Available $4,700 $4,200 Order...
Nine Patch
Made by Bettie Bendolph Seltzer (1939- ); c. 1998. Various fabrics, prints & solids. Size: 82" x 77".
Available $3,200 $2,850 Order...
Blocked Together
Made by Louella Pettway (1929- ); c. 1990. Various fabrics, prints & solids. Size: 86" x 82".
Available $3,850 $3,250 Order...
Bowtie (variation)
Made by Mary Elizabeth Kennedy (1911-1991); 1960's. Random fabrics, prints & solids. Size: 93" x 86".
Available $3,800 $3,200 Order...
Some of the Boligee quiltmakers had relatives in Gee's Bend. However, Boligee, in Greene County, southwest of Tuscaloosa, is not as isolated geographically as Gee's Bend (Wilcox County, AL).
Chalice
Made by Mary Maxtion. Approximate Date Made: 1996 in Boligee (Greene County) Alabama. Size: 89" x 65".
Available $3,500 $2,900 Order...
Pathways
Made by Iserene Taylor. Approximate Date Made: 1996 in Boligee (Greene County), Alabama. Size: 87" x 72".
Available $3,850 $3,300 Order...
Some of the Mt. Pelia quiltmakers had relatives in Gee's Bend. However, unlike Gee's Bend (Wilcox County, AL), the Mt. Pelia community, in Lee County, in the Auburn, AL metropolitan area, is not geographically isolated.
Star Quilt (tied)
Made by Georgia Avery. Approximate Date Made: 1999 in Mt. Pelia, (Lee County) Alabama. Size: 88" x 88".
Available $3,800 $3,400 Order...
