Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
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A work made of appliquéd, pieced and embroidered quilt; dyed and printed cotton, linen and rayon plain, twill, satin and patterned weave fabrics; cotton, silk and rayon embroidery fabrics; plastic liberty bell charm.

"Sunday School Picnic" Quilt

1932

Designed and made by Jennie C. Trein (born Achenbach; American, 1879–1977) Nazareth, Pennsylvania, United States

Pennsylvania

Jennie Trein, an accomplished quilt maker who reportedly made over one hundred quilts, designed this one to commemorate the collected memories of many a Sunday picnic. In a compression of time and space that mirrors the nature of memory, the quilt depicts both recurring and singular events as happening simultaneously. For example, in the border of the quilt, at top right, Trein depicts herself with her small twin daughters en route to the picnic, but in the central picnic scene, she illustrates one of her daughters as an adult, dressed in her nurse's uniform and with a dog on a leash. Similarly, the young couple hiding behind the cabin is also shown eloping on horseback off in the distance.
—Making Memories: Quilts as Souvenirs, October 20, 2017-April 1, 2018

Appliquéd, pieced and embroidered quilt; dyed and printed cotton, linen and rayon plain, twill, satin and patterned weave fabrics; cotton, silk and rayon embroidery fabrics; plastic liberty bell charm

Textiles

Women artists