Unknown Maker
Pieced Quilt (Bricks)about 1835 Maryland
calico and fondu printed cotton; quilted in diagonal crosshatch with border in chevrons
93 3/4 x 83 1/4 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia Smith Melton
While high-contrast, patchwork patterns began to appear in the mid-1830s, the prints and color schemes of the textiles remained of paramount importance. The unknown maker of this simple but stunning quilt had a highly sophisticated sense of color and design. Her choices reveal her to be a real artist. From among innumerable available prints, she chose prints that established a wonderful sense of rhythmic, wavy movement throughout the quilt.
