Crazy Quilt Detail
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 26.5 cm (14 x 10 7/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 72" wide; 84" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.325
Art Historical Context
This vibrant *Crazy Quilt Detail*, rendered by Ruth M. Barnes 1939, captures the exuberant patchwork spirit of American folk art. Part of the Federal Art Project's Index of American Design—a WPA initiative during the Great Depression—Barnes's watercolor, gouache, and work meticulously documents a section of a full-sized quilt measuring 72 by 84 inches. These precise renderings preserved everyday American crafts for posterity, celebrating regional creativity amid economic hardship. Crazy quilts, popular from the 1870s to the early 20th century, featured irregular fabric scraps stitched togethe...
About the Artist
Ruth M. Barnes
Ruth M. Barnes (1880–1954) was an American artist best known for her meticulous watercolor renderings of traditional American folk textiles as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Active during the Great Depression era from roughly 1935 to 1942, Barnes contributed dozens of detailed studies to this ambitious initiative, which em...