Patches of the Past

Quilting has a long history in America, especially in Black communities. Quilts provided a way to be creative when other artistic practices weren’t available. And quilts provided warmth and comfort.

Among the most famous quilters are those of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who have been turning fabric scraps into quilts since the 1800s. During the Harlem Renaissance, a period of innovation in Black art and culture in the 1920s and ’30s, artists experimented with techniques that foreshadowed the quilts shown here. Today artists see quilting as a way to explore and reframe history. “When I quilt,” says artist Bisa Butler, “I feel like I am carrying the torch that was lit by my ancestors.”

Quilting has a long history in America, especially in Black communities. Quilts were a way to be creative when other artistic practices weren’t available.

The quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, have turned fabric scraps into quilts since the 1800s. During the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, artists experimented with new techniques.

Today artists use quilting to explore history. “I feel like I am carrying the torch that was lit by my ancestors,” says artist Bisa Butler.

Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, self-taught artist Michael Cummings started out making collages. He eventually transformed this technique into quilt making. He uses patterns that may coordinate or clash, attaching cut-out shapes to background fabric—a process known as appliqué.

Josephine Baker in Cabaret, above, completed in 2000, pays homage to the entertainer, civil rights activist, and World War II-era spy. Wearing a striking dress, she’s surrounded by three musicians and a bold checked border. The arrangement is as jubilant as one of Baker’s own performances. With his quilts, Cummings tells “stories related to history, mythology, current events, other ethnic groups, or just fun images.”

Michael Cummings started out making collages inspired by the Harlem Renaissance. He later applied what he learned to making quilts. Cummings attaches cut-out shapes to a background of fabric. This is known as appliqué.

Cummings completed Josephine Baker in Cabaret, above, in 2000. Baker was a performer, civil rights activist, and World War II spy. In this work, Baker wears a striking dress. A checked border surrounds the portrait. Cummings says his quilts tell stories about “history, mythology, current events . . . or just fun images.”

To make her signature monochromatic quilted portraits, Carolyn Mazloomi uses outlines to capture her subjects’ likeness. These images often refer to black-andwhite photographs. Her subjects are stylized, as in her 2024 The Immortal Legacy of Henrietta Lacks, above. A pattern of DNA strands surrounds the central figure.

The subject, Henrietta Lacks, went to the hospital in 1951. There, some of her cells were harvested without her knowledge. For decades, these cells have served as the foundation for many scientific breakthroughs. Neither Lacks nor her family were told or, until fairly recently, recognized for this contribution to medicine. Mazloomi’s portrait celebrates Lacks and her impact. “My intention,” she says about her quilts, “is to invite the viewer into contemplation and raise awareness.”

Carolyn Mazloomi makes quilted portraits. They are monochromatic. Mazloomi stylizes them with added details. You can see this in her 2024 work The Immortal Legacy of Henrietta Lacks, above. Strands of DNA form a border around the figure.

Henrietta Lacks went to the hospital in 1951. Doctors took cells from her body without telling her. They used them for research that led to scientific breakthroughs. For years, nobody recognized Lacks’s impact on medicine. Mazloomi wants “to invite the viewer into contemplation and raise awareness.”

Butler uses fabric to make realistic, life-sized portraits that resemble paintings. She looks to her personal history as well as the broader history of quilting in American culture. “As a child, I was always watching my mother and grandmother sew,” she remembers.

For works like her 2018 Mannish Boy, above, Butler begins with an archival photograph. She removes the original background and identifies the highlights and shadows. She layers fabric like a topographical map, using color to create the contours of the figure’s face and clothing. Butler also uses this process with images of contemporary figures, like the portrait of Questlove on the cover.

The artist also selects fabrics with symbolic patterns and frequently uses African textiles. Mannish Boy features jewel-toned blues, greens, and purples as well as flowers, stripes, and paisley.

Each quilt takes upward of 200 hours, and Butler spends that time imagining her subjects’ inner lives as she works. The artist explains that she hopes her quilts tell “the true story of what it means to be a Black American.”

Bisa Butler makes realistic, lifesize portraits. She’s inspired by her personal history and the history of American quilting. “As a child, I was always watching my mother and grandmother sew,” she says.

Butler made Mannish Boy, above, in 2018. She begins with an archival photo. Then she removes the background and identifies the highlights and shadows. She layers fabric of different colors. This creates the contours of the figure’s face and clothes. Butler has used this same process with modern images. That’s how she made the portrait of Questlove on the cover.

Butler chooses patterns with symbols she cares about. She often uses African textiles. Mannish Boy features rich blues, greens, and purples. The patterns include flowers, paisleys, and stripes.

Each quilt takes Butler more than 200 hours to make. She hopes her quilts tell “the true story of what it means to be a Black American.”