About This Artwork

Faith Ringgold
American, born 1934
United States, New York, Harlem

Quilt Entitled "Bessie's Blues" from the series "American Collection Number 5", January 19, 1997

Center: cotton, warp-faced, weft-ribbed plain weave; painted with acrylic paint; quilted; Inner border: pieced, cotton warp-faced weft-ribbed plain weave; painted with acrylic paints; quilted with cotton; third border from edge: cotton and polyester, plain weave, self-patterned by main warp and ground weft floats; painted with acrylic paint; second border from edge: rayon, polyester and metalized thread, warp-faced plain weave with supplementary patterning wefts bound by main warp and self-patterned by main warp and ground weft floats; outer border and backing: nylon, plain weave
195.4 x 201.3 cm (76 7/8 x 79 1/4 in.)
Robert Allerton Endowment, 2002.381

Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories

Exhibition History

The Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 265, "A Century of Collecting: African American Art in The Art Institute of Chicago," January 31, 2003–May 19, 2003