Exhibition

Gee’s Bend: Shared Legacy

Sept. 17, 2022–Sept. 4, 2023 | Through prints recently acquired by The Huntington, this exhibition celebrates the artistry and cultural significance of work by members of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers’ Collective from Alabama. 
Color block banner for Gee's Bend exhibition
Bendolph’s President quilt hangs on gallery wall next to prints of other quilts.

Mary Lee Bendolph’s Image of Formal Presidents hangs on gallery wall along with prints of other Gee’s Bend quilts. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Deborah Miller Marr.

Detailed close-up photo of Bendolph’s President quilt

A close-up shot of Mary Lee Bendolph’s quilt Image of Formal Presidents reveals texture, seams, and stitching. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Deborah Miller Marr.

Multicolored quilt titled “Image of Formal Presidents” by Mary Lee Bendolph

Mary Lee Bendolph, Image of Formal Presidents, 2009. Cotton, 81 × 73 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Mary Lee Bendolph.

Red, blue, and cream quilt titled “American Housetop for the Arnetts,” 2005 by Louisiana Bendolph

Louisiana Bendolph, American Housetop for the Arnetts, 2005. Color softground etching with aquatint and spitbite aquatint, 36 × 29 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Image courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press.

Red, blue, cream, black, and white quilt titled “Fourteen,” 2014 by Mary Lee Bendolph

Mary Lee Bendolph, Fourteen, 2014. Color softground etching with aquatint and spitbite aquatint, 23 × 23 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Image courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press.

Quilt with hues of blue, green, and cream titled “Blues” by Loretta Bennett

Loretta Bennett, Blues, 2007. Color softground etching with aquatint and spitbite aquatint, 31 7/8 × 21 7/8 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Image courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press.

Red, white, blue, and black quilt titled “Remember Me” by Loretta Pettway

Loretta Pettway, Remember Me, 2007. Color softground and hardground etching with aquatint and spitbite aquatint, 28 3/4 × 28 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Image courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press.

Multicolored quilt titled “Diner” by Mary Lee Bendolph

Mary Lee Bendolph, Diner, 2004. Corduroy, 71 × 73 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. | © Mary Lee Bendolph.

1
Color block banner for Gee's Bend exhibition
Bendolph’s President quilt hangs on gallery wall next to prints of other quilts.
Detailed close-up photo of Bendolph’s President quilt
Multicolored quilt titled “Image of Formal Presidents” by Mary Lee Bendolph
Red, blue, and cream quilt titled “American Housetop for the Arnetts,” 2005 by Louisiana Bendolph
Red, blue, cream, black, and white quilt titled “Fourteen,” 2014 by Mary Lee Bendolph
Quilt with hues of blue, green, and cream titled “Blues” by Loretta Bennett
Red, white, blue, and black quilt titled “Remember Me” by Loretta Pettway
Multicolored quilt titled “Diner” by Mary Lee Bendolph

See a focused installation of prints made by members of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers’ Collective from Alabama during an artistic residency at Paulson Fontaine Press in Berkeley, California. The pieces were created by pressing original quilted fabric designs face down on a wax-coated printing plate that captured the texture, seams, and stitching of the original fabrics. Through this innovative process, a quilt is translated to a printed surface—a new medium to explore and share the quiltmakers’ creativity. “Gee’s Bend: Shared Legacy” is presented in two six-month installments, each featuring a selection of 12 prints by quiltmakers Mary Lee Bendolph, Louisiana Bendolph, Loretta Bennett, and Loretta Pettway. In addition to the prints on display, each installment will also exhibit one of two quilts by Mary Lee Bendolph, Diner (2004) and Image of Formal Presidents (2009), which was made as a gift for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on the occasion of his historic inauguration.

Gee’s Bend, Alabama, is home to one of the most important African American quilt-making traditions in the United States. Quilting had begun there by the 19th century, when enslaved women sewed quilts for themselves and their families. As quilters passed down memory, skill, and meaning from generation to generation, they developed both individual and collective artistic practices unique to the community. Their works, which have been shown widely in museums over the past two decades, are celebrated for their soft geometries, bold juxtapositions of color, and inventive use of materials.

This exhibition is supported by the Hannah and Russel Kully Fund for American Art and Laura and Carlton Seaver.

The Quilts of Gee’s Bend

In the only photo-essay book about the quilts of Gee’s Bend for children, award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin explores the history and culture of this fascinating group of women and their unique quilting traditions.

Buy the Book

Gee’s Bend Spotify Playlist

four album covers

Enjoy the sounds of this eclectic mix of songs by artists from Alabama, including Odetta, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Dinah Washington, Alabama Shakes, and others. (A free Spotify account is required to access this playlist.)

Listen

In Conversation with Gee’s Bend Quiltmaker Louisiana Bendolph

Curator Lauren Cross in conversation with Gee’s Bend Quiltmaker Louisiana Bendolph, in the gallery where the artist's work is displayed.

Curator Lauren Cross hosted one of the artists featured in the gallery to discuss the tradition and technique of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers’ Collective and the prints made during their artistic residency at Paulson Fontaine Press in Berkeley, California.

Watch