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Paper Silhouette of Quilter

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

Artist
Ira Blount
Caption
In this paper silhouette cutting, a woman sits in a ladder-back chair, hand-sewing a nine-patch quilt that covers her lap like a full skirt. While the form obscures the quilter’s identity, the image may pay homage to artist Ira Blount’s mother, a seamstress who taught her sons to sew and made quilts to keep their family warm. The piece invites viewers to consider how the domestic arts have changed over time. In our current moment, when advances in technology and mass-production have eliminated the need for many traditional home crafts, these media are transformed into pleasurable hobbies.
After moving to Washington, DC following World War II, Ira Blount mastered dozens of artisanal crafts. His love for crafting, learning, and community engagement would endure over the course of his long life and career.
Cite As
Gift of Ira Blount
2011
Accession Number
2011.0004.0107
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
papercutting
Medium
paper
Dimensions
10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
See more items in
Anacostia Community Museum Collection
Anacostia Community Museum
Record ID
acm_2011.0004.0107
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl8f5afb2c0-a5ba-4773-9133-671a5e4e23d0
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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