We Are All Warmed by the Same Sun

Helen Murrell, We Are All Warmed by the Same Sun, 2012, cotton fabric, cotton thread, and cotton batt, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.15, © 2012, Helen Murrell
Helen Murrell, We Are All Warmed by the Same Sun, 2012, cotton fabric, cotton thread, and cotton batt, 53 34 × 53 34 in. (136.5 × 136.5 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.15, © 2012, Helen Murrell

Artwork Details

Title
We Are All Warmed by the Same Sun
Date
2012
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
53 34 × 53 34 in. (136.5 × 136.5 cm) irregular
Copyright
© 2012, Helen Murrell
Credit Line
Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton fabric, cotton thread, and cotton batt
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Landscape — celestial — sun
Object Number
2023.40.15

Artwork Description

Helen Murrell’s quilt reflects on the history of the inhumane Tuskegee Syphilis Study. From 1932 to 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service enrolled six hundred Black men (nearly two-thirds of whom were afflicted with syphilis) in a study designed to record the natural course of the disease when left untreated. Researchers never collected informed consent. They then withheld treatment, leading many to suffer disease complications, permanent brain damage, and death.  

In response, Murrell’s quilt emphasizes our shared humanity. The title references the civil rights activist and theologian, William Stuart Nelson’s assertation, “Mankind is supported by one universe—the same earth feeds us, the same sun warms us, and the same stars shine upon us all.” 

Murrell used echo stitches—a free motion quilting technique of closely aligning rows of stitches—to conjure the warming embrace of sunlight. The artist noted, “I made this quilt hoping that it will remind us all that we are ultimately one family. If we are to give justice to the men who were the subjects of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, we should not ever forget our own humanity, nor let others forget theirs.”

Works by this artist (791 items)

Mary Vaux Walcott, Goldenpea (Thermopsis rhombifolia), 1923, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.634
Goldenpea (Thermopsis rhombifolia)
Date1923
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Mary Vaux Walcott, Untitled--Plant Study, 1929, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.222
Untitled – Plant Study
Date1929
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Mary Vaux Walcott, Blue Bead (Clintonia borealis), 1932, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.61
Blue Bead (Clintonia borealis)
Date1932
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Mary Vaux Walcott, Southern Bird's Foot Violet (Viola digitata), 1922, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.192
Southern Bird’s Foot Violet (Viola digitata)
Date1922
watercolor on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Dwinell Grant, Untitled, 1936, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost, 1986.92.31
Untitled
Date1936
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Alex Redein, Low Tide at the Flats, n.d., opaque watercolor and collage on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1972.137
Low Tide at the Flats
Daten.d.
opaque watercolor and collage on paper
Not on view
Mary Vaux Walcott, Untitled--Plant Study, 1929, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.222
Untitled – Plant Study
Date1929
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Mary Vaux Walcott, Blue Bead (Clintonia borealis), 1932, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.61
Blue Bead (Clintonia borealis)
Date1932
watercolor on paper
Not on view