Quilts
Annie Bendolph (1900–1981), "Wild Goose Chase" variation with "Flying Geese" border, c. 1930
Cotton, 82 x 74 in.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation
Here Annie Bendolph uses triangles and squares in her variation of a pattern widely known as “Wild Goose Chase.” Gee’s Bend quilters seldom used patterns as they were published in newspapers and magazines, instead enjoying the challenge of creating original and personal interpretations.
Two of the best-known quilts by Annie Bendolph (1900 - 1981) from the 1930s demonstrate her mastery of geometric forms. She frequently worked with mosaics of triangles (known generally to quilters as one-patch designs), whose size, shape, and direction she would manipulate, often in subtle ways, to create striking effects of movement and contrast. This artful disruption of regular patterns is common in the work of many Gee’s Bend quiltmakers, including those by her daughter, Bettie Bendolph Seltzer, who describes her mother:
When I was growing up, Mama made quilts to keep us warm. The ladies then piece their quilts at home and go to each other house to help quilt. At the start all they was making them out of was old clothes, pants, fertilizer sacks, dress tails, and meal and flour sacks, too. That's it. They had to beat the cotton to pad it out to put it in the quilt… I always wanted to be like my mama—hardworking, having something of my own. She was so independent. But I never wanted to have to go through what she went through.
Annie Bendolph’s work is in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Learn more about Annie Bendolph here.
Quality
Souls Grown Deep Custom Prints offers custom reproductions of artworks by Souls Grown Deep artists. Hand-made in the USA using gallery-quality materials, we create prints as true to the original work as possible, using strict color management protocols and state-of-the-art printing technology.Selection
Many of the works offered through this store are exclusive and not available anywhere else. We are continually adding new artworks to our offering, so be sure to check back regularly as you build your own gallery.