Arcola Pettway (1934–1994), "Lazy Gal" ("Bars") variation, 1976
Corduroy, 81 x 89 in.; High Museum of Art, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation
This variation on a "Lazy Gal," composed like an American flag, is one of the most remarkable quilts created during the American Bicentennial.
Arcola Pettway (1934 - 1994) was raised by her mother, Deborah Young, and her grandfather, Reverend Paul S. Pettway, alongside her cousin, Leola Pettway. Leola recalled that they enjoyed a playful childhood together, and both were taught how to quilt by Deborah from a young age. Some of Pettway’s best-known quilts were made using remnant Sears Corduroy from the Freedom Quilting Bee in Alberta, including a masterful “Lazy Gal” variation made during the Bicentennial in 1976 arranged in strips made to suggest an American Flag.
Arcola Pettway’s work is in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art.
Learn more about Arcola Pettway here.
