Washington, D.C. Foreclosure Quilt

Media - 2015.40 - SAAM-2015.40_1 - 120554
Copied Kathryn Clark, Washington, D.C. Foreclosure Quilt, 2015, linen, cotton, and recycled thread, 57 12 × 84 34 in. (146.1 × 215.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Stephen D. Thurston Memorial Fund, 2015.40, © 2015, Kathryn Clark

Artwork Details

Title
Washington, D.C. Foreclosure Quilt
Date
2015
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
57 12 × 84 34 in. (146.1 × 215.3 cm)
Copyright
© 2015, Kathryn Clark
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Stephen D. Thurston Memorial Fund
Mediums Description
linen, cotton, and recycled thread
Classifications
Keywords
  • Cityscape — District of Columbia — Washington
  • Object — written matter — map
Object Number
2015.40

Artwork Description

Clark began to make her Foreclosure Quilts in 2007 to document the effects of the economic recession on the American landscape. By 2015 the mortgage crisis had faded from the news despite the ongoing distress of many homeowners, and Clark crafted this piece to keep the tragedy in the public eye. She chose quilting for its humble, utilitarian value and domestic associations. Her quilts document actual foreclosures from neighborhoods across the country.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.