Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Best Pine Burr

My friend Carol Jones provided me with information about the best Pine Burr quilt ever. She's seen it, at the Saint Louis Museum of Art. I've pasted a photo of it below, but you can get a better look at it on the museum web site. Click on African American art, the quilt is image 35 there.

Cuesta Benberry acquired the quilt, made in 1995 by Lucy Mingo in Gee's Bend, Alabama. Cuesta gave the quilt to the museum in 2007, just months before she passed away. The quilt is cotton and polyester and measures 93" x 81".

Cuesta was interviewed by the St. Louis American when she presented the quilt in April 2007. She said: "The design is savored especially by Southern African Americans, but it is not solely an African-American design. It does date from the 19th century. At that time it was made by both white and black Americans, but it seems to have become an African-American design of choice - especially Southern, rural blacks make that quilt to display their expertise.

Check it out.

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