Sharon and Jemica Williams are artists who make prized quilts in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Sharon learned to quilt from her mother and grandmother and passed on the tradition to her daughter, Jemica.
Historically, quilters from Gee’s Bend used sacks, clothing and textiles they had on hand to create quilts that offered comfort to their families. The Gee’s Bend community traces its roots to enslaved ancestors forcibly relocated from a plantation in Halifax County, North Carolina.
The Montmorenci plantation in a neighboring county was once the home of the staircase and architecture that can now be found in Montmorenci Staircase Hall at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
Enslaved and free individuals at Montmorenci played an active role in the design, construction and everyday use of this staircase.
And the Gee’s Bend quilt made by Sharon and Jemica Williams, and recently acquired by Winterthur, is juxtaposed with the staircase, cementing a connection among these three separate regions.
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The quilt is part of a new exhibition that opened yesterday at Winterthur.
On display through Jan. 5, 2025, “Transformations: Contemporary Artists at Winterthur” will allow visitors to discover how the old influences the new — forging connections across communities, transforming our perspectives about history, and commenting on our lives today.
The works in the exhibition are by more than 30 nationally recognized artists who drew inspiration from or have connections to Winterthur’s historic collection.
“These artistic expressions reflect each artist’s connection to the fine craftsmanship and design in Winterthur’s collection of decorative arts and archival materials, as well as its naturalistic garden and landscape,” said exhibition curator Catharine Dann Roeber. Roeber is Winterthur’s director of academic affairs, the Brock W. Jobe Associate Professor of Decorative Arts and Material Culture, director of Winterthur’s Research Fellowship Program, and executive editor of Winterthur Portfolio.
Daily guided gallery walks of “Transformations” are free with admission. No reservations are required.
Learn more about the artists — ranging from furniture makers and painters to composers and an embroiderer whose work glows in the dark — at winterthur.org/transformations-contemporary-artists-at-winterthur/.
Winterthur recently acquired another piece connected to regional history: an 1857 oil painting in remarkable condition depicting an identifiable free Black member of the Baltimore area community.
In this group portrait, Vermont-born painter Thomas Waterman Wood (1823-1903) documented an important moment just before the American Civil War when the Baltimore area held the largest population of free Blacks in the United States.
The work was commissioned by Quaker abolitionists James Ellicott and Harriet Jolliffe Tyson. The narrative-style portrait portrays servant Sidney Hall tending to the Tysons’ youngest children, Patty and Lilly, who are engaged in a tea party on an outdoor brick patio. At the time of the painting, Sidney was 22 years old, and Patty and Lilly were 5 and 3, respectively.
The painting is on display in the Galleries at Winterthur.
Scholars at Winterthur identified the woman in the painting, and their research into the painting continues.
“By naming Sidney Hall and working to uncover and share her story, we have a tremendous opportunity to engage with the representation of a Black sitter and staff member of the abolitionist Tyson family,” said Dr. Kedra Kearis, Associate Curator of Art and Visual Culture at Winterthur.
The composition’s background evokes the rolling hills of Ellicott Mills, now Ellicott City, about 10 miles west of Baltimore. Cofounded in the early 1770s by surveyor Andrew Ellicott and his brothers, Ellicott Mills became the site of the Tyson flour mills headed by Pennsylvania-born Quaker and abolitionist Elisha Tyson. Tyson used his wealth to support the Underground Railroad and the African colonization movement.
In Winterthur’s ongoing celebration of the American story, honor Juneteenth Freedom Day at Winterthur on Saturday, June 15, with the Wilmington Ballet and the Whitney Project. Storytellers, musicians, dancers, and vendors will fill Enchanted Woods and Copeland Lecture Hall with performances enriched by and deeply rooted in African American arts and culture.
Winterthur’s dedication to showcasing American decorative arts continues July 19 to 21 with Artisan Market.
The event was expanded with a third day this year to accommodate a growing interest in artisanal crafts and locally sourced treasures.
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Some of the region’s most talented craftspeople will present their outstanding wares, including antiques and collectibles, furniture and home décor, upcycled items and architectural salvage, high-quality handmade crafts, vintage clothing and jewelry, artisanal and small-batch gourmet goods, original art in a variety of media, garden items, and much more.
It’s an opportunity to support talented regional artisans while exploring the charm of Winterthur.
Hope to see you there!
Chris Strand is the Charles F. Montgomery Director and CEO at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
