Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Susan Gorham Farnum

Quilt

Maker

Susan Gorham Farnum (American, late 19th century)

Title

Quilt

Year

1880-1890

Medium

  • silk,
  • linen

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Silk,
  • linen

Materials

silk, linen

Geography

Place Made: Rhode Island

Dimensions

Length: 145.4 cm (57 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Eleanor Seaman

Object Number

1986.069

Type

  • Textiles

Exhibition History

Infinite Variety
American Quilts and Coverlets
Jun 17, 2005 – Sep 18, 2005

Label copy

The eye-dazzling effects of the ziggurat shapes in this quilt are intensified by the placement of plain and patterned fabrics throughout the individual cells. Although each cell is symmetrically patterned, color alternation creates channels and swirls of color that impart a restless motion to the overall design. The contrast between the symmetry of the piecing and the symmetry breaking in the color use contributes to a balanced but not static composition.

A Decade of Collecting (Costume and Textiles)
Jul 17, 1987 – Sep 06, 1987

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Susan Gorham Farnum (American, late 19th century)
Quilt, 1880-1890
Silk; linen
Length: 145.4 cm (57 1/4 inches)
Gift of Eleanor Seaman 1986.069

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Main Navigation

  • Visit

    • Hours & Admission
    • Accessibility & Amenities
    • Tours & Group Visits
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • Art & Design

    • Collection Research
    • Collection
    • Past Exhibitions
  • Join / Give

    • Become a Member
    • Give
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Watch / Listen / Read

    • The Latest
    • Publications
    • Articles
    • Audio & Video

Footer Secondary Navigation

  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use
Tickets
Homepage
Go to the risd.edu homepage. This link will open in a new window.