BLM‑4

Carolyn Crump, BLM-4, 2020, cotton fabric, cotton thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.15, © 2020, Carolyn Crump
Carolyn Crump, BLM-4, 2020, cotton fabric, cotton thread, overall_​1: 13 38 × 7 14 × 9 14 in. (34 × 18.4 × 23.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.15, © 2020, Carolyn Crump

Artwork Details

Title
BLM‑4
Date
2020
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall_​1: 13 38 × 7 14 × 9 14 in. (34 × 18.4 × 23.5 cm)
Copyright
© 2020, Carolyn Crump
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton fabric, cotton thread
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — other — reformer
  • History — United States — Black History
Object Number
2021.15

Artwork Description

“I started making my art masks to chronicle this time in my life so people could know I gave my love, talent, and my time to my community, friends and family, anybody that needed my help. I tried do what I could.” —Carolyn Crump















Carolyn Crump tells stories of African American life with her three-dimensional quilts. She is a fifth-generation quilter and member of the Women of Color Quilters Network. At the onset of COVID-19, Crump began making cloth masks for her community in Houston, Texas. After a few months, she began sewing more elaborate and nonfunctional masks, like a joyful vignette of a little girl reading under an apple tree. Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, she turned to themes of resilience and social justice, including a portrait of Floyd and protest signs affirming the message Black Lives Matter.







This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (1 item)

A. Kinder or Rinder, Drawing on Door, 1887, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.82
Drawing on Door
Date1887
oil on canvas
On view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

More Artworks from the Collection

William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
oil on canvas
Not on view
John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Dateca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (Italian), Saint, 19th century, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.157
Saint
Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
Date19th century
oil on canvas
Not on view