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Slide Show: Fabric of History

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Untitled quilt by Loretta Bennett

Untitled quilt by Loretta Bennett

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Untitled quilt by Loretta Bennett

Untitled quilt by Loretta Bennett

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Missouri Pettway, 1902-1981. Blocks and strips work-clothes quilt. 1942Pettway made this quilt using her husband’s work clothes after he died. Note: This is an older quilt and not part of the Elizabeth Leach exhibition.

Missouri Pettway, 1902-1981. Blocks and strips work-clothes quilt. 1942

Pettway made this quilt using her husband’s work clothes after he died. Note: This is an older quilt and not part of the Elizabeth Leach exhibition.

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Missouri Pettway, 1902-1981. Blocks and strips work-clothes quilt. 1942Pettway made this quilt using her husband’s work clothes after he died. Note: This is an older quilt and not part of the Elizabeth Leach exhibition.

Missouri Pettway, 1902-1981. Blocks and strips work-clothes quilt. 1942

Pettway made this quilt using her husband’s work clothes after he died. Note: This is an older quilt and not part of the Elizabeth Leach exhibition.

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Louisiana Bendolph, Shared Legacy, soft ground and spit bite aquatint etching. 2007Born in 1960, Bendolph is younger than most of the other artists, but her prints reflect the same sophisticated color choices and improvisation found i

Louisiana Bendolph, Shared Legacy, soft ground and spit bite aquatint etching. 2007

Born in 1960, Bendolph is younger than most of the other artists, but her prints reflect the same sophisticated color choices and improvisation found i

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Louisiana Bendolph, Shared Legacy, soft ground and spit bite aquatint etching. 2007Born in 1960, Bendolph is younger than most of the other artists, but her prints reflect the same sophisticated color choices and improvisation found i

Louisiana Bendolph, Shared Legacy, soft ground and spit bite aquatint etching. 2007

Born in 1960, Bendolph is younger than most of the other artists, but her prints reflect the same sophisticated color choices and improvisation found i

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Lucy Mingo, Housetop Blocks, quilted fabric.  2008

Lucy Mingo, Housetop Blocks, quilted fabric. 2008

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Lucy Mingo, Housetop Blocks, quilted fabric.  2008

Lucy Mingo, Housetop Blocks, quilted fabric. 2008

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Strip cloth quilt by Loretta Bennett. Old works clothes and jeans serve as raw materials for this Gee’s Bend quilt.

Strip cloth quilt by Loretta Bennett. Old works clothes and jeans serve as raw materials for this Gee’s Bend quilt.

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Strip cloth quilt by Loretta Bennett. Old works clothes and jeans serve as raw materials for this Gee’s Bend quilt.

Strip cloth quilt by Loretta Bennett. Old works clothes and jeans serve as raw materials for this Gee’s Bend quilt.

How appreciable is art without context? It is certainly possible to view the quilts of Gee’s Bend currently on view at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery as modern, innovative works of art comparable to the push-pull paintings of Hans Hoffman, or Mark Rothko’s color fields, without knowing the stories behind them. However, this rather constricted view will limit your experience. During my sophomore year in college, I saw the Gee’s Bend exhibition for the first time at the Whitney Museum of Americ…











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