QUILT INDEX RECORD
11-37-7078
Essay:
Light of Liberty
1985-1986
Carol Anne Grotrian
Cambridge, Massachusetts
69"w x 69 1/2"h
Machine pieced; hand appliqué; hand embroidery; hand quilted
Cottons & hand-dyed fabric
"Light of Liberty" was Carole Anne Grotrian's prize-winning entry in The Great American Quilt Contest with the theme "Expressions of Liberty," commemorating the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Her quilt appears on page 73 of the book, "All Flags Flying," by Robert Bishop and Carter Houck. Rather than a literal image of the Statue of Liberty, Carole Anne Grotrian presents an abstract view of the Statue, Bedloe's Island, and the light eminating from Liberty's torch from above.
Gift of Carol Anne Grotrian, 2006.02
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project - MassQuilts
Who documented this quilt?
Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project, MassQuilts; New England Quilt Museum Collection
MASS-Quilts ID Number:
5532
Alternate inventory control number:
NEQM# 2006.02
Ownership of this quilt is:
Public Museum, Library or Institution
Quilt owner:
New England Quilt Museum
Quilt owner's city:
Lowell
Quilt owner's state:
Massachusetts (MA)
Quilt owner's county:
Middlesex
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Width:
69
Length:
69.25
Quilt's title:
Light of Liberty
Quilt top made by:
Grotrian, Carol Anne
Quiltmaker's state:
Massachusetts (MA)
Quiltmaker's city:
Cambridge
Quiltmaker's country:
United States
How did owner acquire quilt?
Gift
Where the quilt was made, city:
Cambridge
Where the quilt was made, state:
Massachusetts (MA)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
donated by maker Carol Anne Grotrian
Time period:
1976-1999
When was the quilt finished?
1985-1986
Format:
Finished quilt
Technique, embellishments:
Embroidery
Fabric fibers:
Cotton
Patterns:
Hand-dyed
Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:
plain weave
Overall color scheme:
Light or pastel colors
Quilting:
Hand quilting
Motif design, overall:
Outline
Describe the quilting designs used:
circles/diagonals
Quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
10-Sep
Width between quilting lines:
.75"
Border; technique, fiber, weave, pattern:
Pieced, cotton, plain weave, illusion of a triple border
Binding and edging:
Front turned to back
Binding; fiber:
Cotton
Binding; weave:
Plain weave
Backing, number of pieces:
one piece
Backing, fiber:
Cotton
Backing, weave and pattern:
white [pink tinged]
Inscription, type:
Date
Inscription, content:
1886-1986/Label in shape of a torch
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1886-1986
Inscription, front/back:
on back
Describe where the inscription was found:
on front
Inscription, technique:
Ink
Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:
label on back
Pattern name, variations and comments:
Original
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
See notes
Details
Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:
1986
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
New England Quilt Museum
Cite this Quilt
Grotrian, Carol Ann. Light of Liberty. 1985-1986. From Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project - MassQuilts, Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project, MassQuilts; New England Quilt Museum Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=11-37-7078. Accessed: 03/29/24
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Exhibit
Contemporary Massachusetts Quilts
Lane, Laura