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Vote quilt
A decade before Irene Williams made her Vote quilt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Gee’s Bend to speak at the Baptist church. He was there to encourage the residents of the small African American community to exercise their right to vote, assuring them that “You are somebody.” A few weeks later, he was leading the march from Selma to Montgomery when police with dogs attacked the peaceful marchers, a day that became known as Bloody Sunday.
Williams’s quilt speaks to the innumerable obstacles that had to be overcome to exercise this most basic right of citizenship. While we don’t know if Williams joined the 1965 march, her use of this red-white-and-blue VOTE patterned cotton suggests that the issue continued to resonate with her years later. By combining this dynamic graphic pattern with blocks of solids, checks, and stripes in the same patriotic colors, Williams created a rhythmic collage of her own vision. By making a warm quilt for a family member’s bed, the artist gave new life to old clothing and household textiles, while bearing witness to the struggles and resilience of her community.
Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Quilt: Vote, Housetop Variation
Vote quilt
Irene Williams (American, 1920–2015)
American (Gee's Bend, Alabama)
1975
Object Place: Gee's Bend, Alabama, United States
Medium/Technique
Printed cotton plain weave, pieced
Dimensions
Overall: 226.1 × 198.1 cm (89 × 81 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds from the Frank B. Bemis Fund, The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection, and Gallery Instructor 50th Anniversary Fund to support The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection, and gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the collection of Vanessa Vadim
Accession Number2018.3095
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
A decade before Irene Williams made her Vote quilt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Gee’s Bend to speak at the Baptist church. He was there to encourage the residents of the small African American community to exercise their right to vote, assuring them that “You are somebody.” A few weeks later, he was leading the march from Selma to Montgomery when police with dogs attacked the peaceful marchers, a day that became known as Bloody Sunday.
Williams’s quilt speaks to the innumerable obstacles that had to be overcome to exercise this most basic right of citizenship. While we don’t know if Williams joined the 1965 march, her use of this red-white-and-blue VOTE patterned cotton suggests that the issue continued to resonate with her years later. By combining this dynamic graphic pattern with blocks of solids, checks, and stripes in the same patriotic colors, Williams created a rhythmic collage of her own vision. By making a warm quilt for a family member’s bed, the artist gave new life to old clothing and household textiles, while bearing witness to the struggles and resilience of her community.
DescriptionRed, white, and blue quilt made from pieced strips of solid and printed ("Vote") cotton.
ProvenanceBy 2010, sold by the artist to Vanessa Vadim. By 2010, acquired by Souls Grown Deep Foundation (founded 2010), Atlanta, GA; 2018, sold by Souls Grown Deep Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 12, 2018)