Fans Quilt1922–192369 1/2 × 68 1/2"Rayon, wool, army uniform wool, embroidery threadGift of Margaret Cavigga1985.23.70152865936Artist unidentifiedTextilesNo signature. Embroidered dates: 1922 and 1923.United StatesMinnesotaTextilesObject information is a work in progress and
may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the
American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgpieced(including construction) Pieced quilt constructed of forty-nine blocks 8 1/4" sq and 4 3/4"w border on four sides with alternating triangles of grey tweed and khaki green wool. Fan radiating from LLC each block, with red center and leaves of army fabric, black or navy rayon binding around outer edge of each fan; each pieced element with decorative embroidery over seam. Isolated pictographic elements: numbers, letters, linked chains, in all but ten blocks in blue, yellow, pink and red thread. Outer binding of blue flannel with red stripes. Backed with black and white striped brushed broadcloth. Grid or box quilting around each fan. Applied cotton flannel binding macine-stitced on top. Outline quilting in each fan, grid quilting around the fans. Featherstitching around the blocks and the fans.This quilt is made almost entirely from WWI Army fabric. A suggestion that the embroidered elements are of Native American origon appears to be unfounded, and their meaning remains unknown. The fan design became popular in the Victorian age and retained its popularity throuyghout the Art Deco period. Numbers: 1,2,3,4,7; letters: A,B, J, K,M,N,O, T, W.
The Arts and Crafts Movement originated in nineteenth-century Britain. It was an ideology that sought to improve standards of decorative design wake of industrialization, and the Movement’s foundations of honesty, individualism, and democracy through handcraft resonated with the cultural values burgeoning stateside—particularly in Minnesota. America’s first Arts and Crafts guild, the Chalk and Chisel Club, was founded in Minneapolis in 1895. The society promoted the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement through programs, design and art classes, and exhibitions of handmade objects. Further, it promoted an approach to homemaking that emphasized harmonious, functional designs—from the architecture to the tableware.
Arts and Crafts textiles tended towards homespun, natural fabrics in warm, earthy colors. Fan Quilt speaks to the materials and ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as other aesthetic influences of the time. The quilt is a variation on a traditional Grandmother’s Fan, a pattern first released in print in a Ladies Art Company catalog in 1897, popularized perhaps by the use of the fan motif in Crazy Quilts—a relationship further emphasized by the elaborate embroidered stitchery. The triangular infinity pattern around the border speaks to the art of indigenous peoples of the Midwest—an influence often cited by the Chisel and Chalk sect. The fans themselves, graphically arranged, are the product of the Art Deco age. With bold curves, sharp lines, and that visually arresting red, Fans Quilt is reminiscent of architecture, industrial design, and decorative arts of the early-twentieth century Jazz Age.
The incorporation of upcycled army uniforms is consistent with the quilting practice of patchwork, which was not only an art form, but also an economy. Quilt makers sought to make use of every scrap of available fiber—from feed sacks to ceremonial garments. Given that Fan Quilt shortly post-dates World War I, it was likely created in commemoration for service. The cryptic letters, numbers, dates, and symbols are unintelligible to us today, but were certainly imbued with meaning for the maker of this quilt.
Sarah Margolis-Pineo, Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts, Self-Taught Genius Gallery, July 16 – October 3, 2018.19221923 1985 23 7 Object information is a work in progress and
may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the
American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgpieced(including construction) Pieced quilt constructed of forty-nine blocks 8 1/4" sq and 4 3/4"w border on four sides with alternating triangles of grey tweed and khaki green wool. Fan radiating from LLC each block, with red center and leaves of army fabric, black or navy rayon binding around outer edge of each fan; each pieced element with decorative embroidery over seam. Isolated pictographic elements: numbers, letters, linked chains, in all but ten blocks in blue, yellow, pink and red thread. Outer binding of blue flannel with red stripes. Backed with black and white striped brushed broadcloth. Grid or box quilting around each fan. Applied cotton flannel binding macine-stitced on top. Outline quilting in each fan, grid quilting around the fans. Featherstitching around the blocks and the fans.This quilt is made almost entirely from WWI Army fabric. A suggestion that the embroidered elements are of Native American origon appears to be unfounded, and their meaning remains unknown. The fan design became popular in the Victorian age and retained its popularity throuyghout the Art Deco period. Numbers: 1,2,3,4,7; letters: A,B, J, K,M,N,O, T, W.
The Arts and Crafts Movement originated in nineteenth-century Britain. It was an ideology that sought to improve standards of decorative design wake of industrialization, and the Movement’s foundations of honesty, individualism, and democracy through handcraft resonated with the cultural values burgeoning stateside—particularly in Minnesota. America’s first Arts and Crafts guild, the Chalk and Chisel Club, was founded in Minneapolis in 1895. The society promoted the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement through programs, design and art classes, and exhibitions of handmade objects. Further, it promoted an approach to homemaking that emphasized harmonious, functional designs—from the architecture to the tableware.
Arts and Crafts textiles tended towards homespun, natural fabrics in warm, earthy colors. Fan Quilt speaks to the materials and ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as other aesthetic influences of the time. The quilt is a variation on a traditional Grandmother’s Fan, a pattern first released in print in a Ladies Art Company catalog in 1897, popularized perhaps by the use of the fan motif in Crazy Quilts—a relationship further emphasized by the elaborate embroidered stitchery. The triangular infinity pattern around the border speaks to the art of indigenous peoples of the Midwest—an influence often cited by the Chisel and Chalk sect. The fans themselves, graphically arranged, are the product of the Art Deco age. With bold curves, sharp lines, and that visually arresting red, Fans Quilt is reminiscent of architecture, industrial design, and decorative arts of the early-twentieth century Jazz Age.
The incorporation of upcycled army uniforms is consistent with the quilting practice of patchwork, which was not only an art form, but also an economy. Quilt makers sought to make use of every scrap of available fiber—from feed sacks to ceremonial garments. Given that Fan Quilt shortly post-dates World War I, it was likely created in commemoration for service. The cryptic letters, numbers, dates, and symbols are unintelligible to us today, but were certainly imbued with meaning for the maker of this quilt.
Sarah Margolis-Pineo, Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts, Self-Taught Genius Gallery, July 16 – October 3, 2018.