Patty Ann Williams (1898–1972) was an American artist associated with the Gee's Bend group of quilters.[1][2]

In 2006 her quilt Medallion with checkerboard center appeared on a US Postal service stamp as part of a series commemorating Gee's bend quilters.[3]

Life

Patty Ann Williams was the mother of Liza Jane Williams and Benjamin Williams, the mother-in-law of Nell Hall Williams, and the grandmother of Patty Irby. Patty Ann raised her children and her grandchildren in an off-grid house tucked into the woods of Rehoboth, Alabama. They did not receive electricity until the mid-1960s. Before that, they cooked their food and heated their house by a wood-burning stove. Especially towards her older years, Patty Ann stayed in the house, cooking, while her kin worked in the fields on their tenant farm.[2]

Work

Williams' quilts were made to keep her children and grandchildren warm. Her grand-daughter, Patty Irby, recalled that, instead of concentrating on artistic value, "They never really thought about it; whatever was too old to wear, they just tore it up to make quilts."[2] Although most of their quilts were made from repurposed materials, some of their quilts were made from scraps sold in bulk at a discount from Selma, Alabama.

References

  1. ↑ John Beardsley; William Arnett; Paul Arnett; Jane Livingston (2002). Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Tinwood Books. pp. 396–. ISBN 978-0-9719104-0-9.
  2. 1 2 3 "Patty Ann Williams". Souls Grown Deep.
  3. ↑ "Gees Bend Quilters to be Honored with Stamp". www.wsfa.com. 2006-04-10.
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