Lucy T. Pettway (American, 1921–2004). <em>Quilt, Housetop Pattern</em>, ca. 1945. Cotton, 84 × 69 in. (213.4 × 175.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018, 2018.37.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2018.37.2_overall_PS22.jpg)

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Lucy T. Pettway (American, 1921–2004). Quilt, Housetop Pattern, ca. 1945. Cotton, 84 × 69 in. (213.4 × 175.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018, 2018.37.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2018.37.2_overall_PS22.jpg)

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

How intentional is the warping in this piece, the asymmetry and non-squareness? A result of the improvisation?

This quilt is an example of the Housetop pattern. The pattern grows as the quilter adds strips and additional squares through improv. Pettway was known as one of the most prolific quilters of her time.

I’m curious if she meant the sides not to be straight, for it to be not at right angles, or if some of the stretching and warping is due to its being hung on a wall.

In this quilting community, is the irregularity and asymmetry valued as part of the work, or is the goal to be as regular (polygonally speaking) as possible?

Since it is a product of improv and the Housetop pattern as we established earlier, it was most likely an outcome of the making process. Gee's Bend is known for the Housetop pattern. In fact, it's one of the most popular. They begin with a central patch in the center of the quilt, but this particular one most likely started from the left. As more fabric was added, the shape began to warp. This may not have been intentional, but the maker has left it irregular, as you noticed. The emphasis on the 90 degrees angles in the pattern is known as "call and response" which also mirrors traditional African American music.

Quilt, Housetop Pattern

Lucy T. Pettway

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, A Quiet Place

The quilters of Gee’s Bend are part of a small Black community in rural Boykin, Alabama. An isolated hamlet bordered on three sides by the Alabama River, Gee’s Bend has a continuous tradition of quilt-making through multiple generations of several families. The artists’ bold compositions and improvisational forms, produced using recycled clothing and other found materials, achieved national fame with a 2005 traveling museum exhibition.

Making quilts for seven decades, Lucy T. Pettway started piecing when she was about twelve, going on to become an adventurous adapter of local and traditional patterns. Quilt, Housetop Pattern is an exceptional example of one of the most popular patterns in Gee’s Bend. Dominated by concentric squares, the Housetop pattern is typically pieced from a starter square, with an improvisational pattern then formed by adding strips and additional squares.

ARTIST Lucy T. Pettway, American, 1921–2004

MEDIUM Cotton

DATES ca. 1945

DIMENSIONS 84 × 69 in. (213.4 × 175.3 cm) mount: 73 1/4 × 83 3/4 × 1 1/4 in. (186.1 × 212.7 × 3.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2018.37.2

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018

PROVENANCE Before 2018, acquired by William S. Arnett of Atlanta, GA; by 2018, transferred to the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Atlanta; October 23, 2018, gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation to the Brooklyn Museum.

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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Single block Half Log Cabin pattern variation.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, A Quiet Place

CAPTION Lucy T. Pettway (American, 1921–2004). Quilt, Housetop Pattern, ca. 1945. Cotton, 84 × 69 in. (213.4 × 175.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018, 2018.37.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2018.37.2_overall_PS22.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2018.37.2_overall_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024

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