The Quilts of Gee’s Bend in Print

Posters, calendars, planners and other items celebrating the amazing handcraft of the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama.

Sample Large Wall Calendar (PDF)

About the Quilts of Gee’s Bend

“Some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.”—Michael Kimmelman, New York Times

Gee’s Bend is a small rural community, located in a curve in the Alabama River near Selma, Alabama, populated by descendants of black plantation slaves and sharecroppers. Geographically and culturally isolated, the residents of Gee’s Bend lived and worked for many decades under virtually the same hard conditions as their ancestors, retaining many aspects of 19th century life well into the late 20th century.

Quiltmaking, for example, remained an important cultural activity. Over time, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity reminiscent of Amish quilts and modern art. The women of Gee’s Bend passed their skills and aesthetic down through at least six generations to the present. In 2002, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in partnership with Tinwood Alliance, of Atlanta, presented an exhibition of seventy quilt masterpieces. Since 2006 this exhibition has been on tour, and will appear at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in late 2008.

Links

The Quilts of Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective History
Tinwood
United States Postal Service Unveils Quilts of Gee’s Bend Stamps
Phladelphia Museum of Art: Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt