Designed and executed by Mildred Jacobs Chappell (American, active early 20th century)
"The Settling of the West" Quilt
INV-1536
Designed and executed by Mildred Jacobs Chappell (American, active early 20th century)March 1931/September 1932
"The Settling of the West" Quilt
Designed and executed by Mildred Jacobs Chappell (American, active early 20th century) →20th Centurytextileneedlework - quilt
Date
March 1931/September 1932
Medium
Appliquéd and embroidered quilt; dyed cotton plain weave fabrics; cotton embroidery threads
Dimensions
259.4 × 215.4 cm (102 1/8 × 84 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. David W. Grainger
In her representation of the settling of the American West, Mildred Jacobs Chappell depicted European American settlers on foot, on horseback, and in covered wagons, as well as explorers and Native Americans. This peaceful and picturesque vision gives no indication of the conflict, violence, and grievous misdeeds, such as the Indian REmoval Act and Trail of Tears, that characterized the United State's westward expansion. In an inscription on the reverse, Chappell nostalgically wrote, "My only regret is that I could not have lived one hundred years earlier to experience those stirring times." She thus acknowledges her historical remove from the events depicted; indeed, earlier in the inscription she admits that her love for the Old West came from history and books, which at the time would have offered an idealized narrative. The stylized forms and orderly composition, in which white settlers take center stage, reinforce the simplified and romanticized narrative presented in the quilt.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
