The Unbalanced Scales of Justice

Cleota Proctor Wilbekin, The Unbalanced Scales of Justice, 2012, cotton fabric and cotton batt, 50 1⁄2 × 48 3⁄4 in. (128.3 × 123.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.16

Artwork Details

Title
The Unbalanced Scales of Justice
Artist
Date
2012
Location
Dimensions
50 1⁄2 × 48 3⁄4 in. (128.3 × 123.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton fabric and cotton batt
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Allegory — quality — justice
  • Object — tool — scale
Object Number
2023.40.16
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.40.16

Artwork Description

Cleota Proctor Wilbekin 
born 1930, Des Moines, IA
died 2017, Cincinnati, OH

The Unbalanced Scales of Justice 
2012
cotton fabric and cotton batting

The design of this quilt by Cleota Wilbekin was inspired by the logo of the National Association of Bench and Bar Spouses (NABBS), which features a balanced scale of justice encircled by people. Wilbekin served two terms as president of the organization. 

The quilt foregrounds an unbalanced scale to, in the artist’s words, “express the fact that the United States still has a long way to go in providing justice for all its citizens.” Appliquéd figures circle the scales. Around them, Wilbekin explained, hundreds of antique white buttons “symbolize our tears,” red buttons “symbolize our blood and fears,” and black buttons “represent our strengths.”

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.16


We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts of Black Women Artists, 2025 s

Works by this artist (2 items)

Morris Neuwirth, Cranberry Colliery, ca. 1940, tempera and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.246
Cranberry Colliery
Artist
Dateca. 1940
tempera and pencil on paper
Not on view
Morris Neuwirth, Newton Creek, 1940, tempera and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.244
Newton Creek
Artist
Date1940
tempera and pencil on paper
Not on view

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