Artwork Details
- Title
- Smarter than a 5th Grader; Garrett Morgan
- Artist
- Date
- 2012
- Location
- Dimensions
- 53 x 46 in.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
- Mediums Description
- cotton fabric, ribbon, buttons, beads, and cotton batt
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Object — other — money
- Object — other — sewing tool
- Architecture — vehicle — bicycle
- Recreation — sport and play — golf
- Animal — horse
- Occupation — domestic — sewing
- Architecture — vehicle — automobile
- Figure group
- Object Number
- 2023.40.1
Artwork Description
Charlotte Hunter
born 1950, Cincinnati, OH
resides Cincinnati, OH
Smarter Than a 5th Grader; Garrett Morgan
2012
cotton fabric, ribbon, buttons, beads, and cotton batting
Charlotte Hunter depicts the accomplishments of Garrett Augustus Morgan in this patchwork quilt. Morgan’s inventions include a belt fastener and zigzag attachment for sewing machines; G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream; a breathing device; and his most prominent patent, the manually operated traffic signal. Morgan achieved all this success despite having only received a sixth-grade education in his native Kentucky.
With symbols of racist sports mascots, Hunter addresses how Morgan at times pretended to be a Native American man named Big Chief Mason, fearing that potential customers would not have faith in a Black man’s inventions.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.1
We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts of Black Women Artists, 2025