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Crazy Quilt
Rahcel Blair Greene
Photo by Matt Hoebermann
Crazy Quilt
Crazy Quilt
Rahcel Blair Greene
Photo by Matt Hoebermann
Crazy Quilt Rahcel Blair Greene Photo by Matt Hoebermann
Record Details

Crazy Quilt

Artist ((1846–1909))
Date1885–1895
Place/RegionBelvedere, New Jersey, United States
MediumSilk and paint with metallic and silk embroidery
Dimensions72 × 71 3/4"
Credit LineGift of James I. Chesterley
Accession number1982.18.1
CopyrightThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.
Description

The maker of this quilt was especially adept at delicate hand painting. Many of the flowers are both embroidered and painted, and several of the Kate Greenaway–style children are embroidered, with the same scene repeated in paint on another section of the quilt. Embroidered, painted, and printed designs on Crazy quilts were usually not original inventions of the makers of these textiles—the figures were often reproduced from designs found in magazines, books on fancywork, and manufacturers’ and store brochures. Makers of Crazies could even purchase pre embroidered appliqués that could be sewn directly onto the quilts.

Elizabeth V. Warren, "Crazy Quilt," exhibition label for QUILTS: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum. Elizabeth V. Warren, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2010.

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