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Willie Abrams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Ma Willie" Abrams
(Photograph by Abrams Family)

Willie Abrams (1897–1987), also known as Ma Willie, was an American artist. She was a member of the Freedom Quilting Bee, along with her daughter Estelle Witherspoon, and is associated with the Gee's Bend quilters.[1][2][3][4] Some of “Ma” Willie’s quilts are in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.[5][2]

Biography

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“Ma Willie" Abrams was born in 1897 in Wilcox County Alabama, where she was raised by her grandmother. “Ma” Willie was one of the oldest participating members until her death in 1987. She began quilting at the age of twelve, with the guidance of her grandmother. While she did know how to use a sewing machine, she normally chose to work by hand. “Ma” Willie and her husband Eugene Abrams were tenant farmers, which they continued until the Quilting Bee provided them with an alternative way to earn a living. “Ma” Willie would mostly craft bonnets for the Bee, which were to be sold for $2 a piece. When “Ma” Willie did quilt she preferred to do so at her own home instead of at the sewing center, often choosing to sew on her front porch.[2][6]

Exhibitions

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Further reading

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  • Finley, Cheryl; Griffey, Randall R.; Peck, Amelia; Pinckney, Darryl (2018). My Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9781588396099. OCLC 1022075437.
  • Burgard, T. A. (2017). Revelations: Art from the African American South. Germany: Prestel Publishing.
  • Beardsley, J. (2002). Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Greece: Tinwood Books.
  • Arnett, W. (2006). Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Greece: Tinwood Books.
  • Beardsley, J. (2002). The Quilts of Gee's Bend. Greece: Tinwood Books.

References

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  1. ^ "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt and African American Quiltmaking Traditions". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Willie "Ma Willie" Abrams | Souls Grown Deep Foundation". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  3. ^ Beardsley, John; Arnett, William; Arnett, Paul; Livingston, Jane (2002). Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Tinwood Books. p. 204. ISBN 9780971910409.
  4. ^ Callahan, Nancy (2005-04-17). The Freedom Quilting Bee: Folk Art and the Civil Rights Movement. University of Alabama Press. p. 207. ISBN 9780817352479.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Willie Abrams | Roman Stripes quilt". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  6. ^ Callahan, Nancy (1987). The Freedom Quilting Bee. Tuscaloosa, Ala: University of Alabama Press. pp. 208–212. ISBN 978-0-8173-0310-5.