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Mary L. Bennett

"Housetop"—Four-Block Variation, c. 1965

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About the Artwork

Mary L. Bennett (b. 1942), "Housetop"—Four-Block Variation, c. 1965

Cotton and cotton/polyester blend, 77 x 82 in.; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation

Mary L. Bennett learned to quilt by observing her grandmother, Delia Bennett (1892–1976). The child of one of Delia's younger daughters, Lucille, she was raised by her grandmother. "Didn't nobody teach me to make quilts. I just learned it by myself, about twelve or thirteen. I was seeing my grandmama piecing it up, and then I start. I just taken me some pieces and put it together, piece them up till they look like I want them to look. That's all." Several of her compositions recall those of her grandmother, particularly this strip quilt in bold colors divided into four differently sized quadrants.

about the artist

Mary L. Bennett (b. 1942) learned to quilt by observing her grandmother, Delia Bennett (1892–1976), the matriarch of one of Gee’s Bend’s largest families of quilters. The child of one of Delia's younger daughters, Lucille, she was raised by her grandmother.

Didn't nobody teach me to make quilts. I just learned it by myself, about twelve or thirteen. I was seeing my grandmama piecing it up, and then I start. I just taken me some pieces and put it together, piece them up till they look like I want them to look. That's all.

Several of her most imaginative variations of “Housetop” quilts recall those of her grandmother, demonstrating the design continuity frequently seen across generations of the same family in Gee’s Bend.

Mary L. Bennett’s work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Learn more about Mary L. Bennett here.

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