Blue and White Woolen Coverlet c. 1938

Frank Gutting made this blue and white woolen coverlet sometime between 1855 and 1995. The pattern repeats and alternates between architectural scenes and more organic plant and animal forms. I can imagine him carefully choosing his materials and meticulously plotting out the design, maybe in response to other textiles he'd seen. He was probably interested in the formal interplay between two very different kinds of shapes. What was he thinking as he worked, repeating motifs, and how was the piece intended to be used? Did it adorn a bed, a chair, or a wall? How might we consider this object within the broader history of textile design and production? And how does it relate to other artists who have taken up the challenge of working in series, or in response to images that came before? Artists are always in conversation, even across time, inspiring and responding to one another’s creative decisions, whether they are using paint or thread.