Nettie Jane Kennedy

Nettie Jane Kennedy (1916–2002) was an American artist associated with the Gee's Bend group of quilters.[1][2]

Early life

Nette Jane was the youngest of Indiana and Patrick Bendolph's 16 children. Being the youngest, she had no interest in or capabilities to farm alongside her older siblings. Her family primarily grew cotton, corn, peas, pinders (a local term for peanuts), millet for syrup, and raised cows and hogs.[3]

At 20 years old, she married Hargrove Kennedy, who was named after Hargrove Van de Graaff, the owner of the Gee's Bend estate. Hargrove and Nettie Jane worked for the estate and sharecropped off of their land. They were married for more than 65 years.[3]

Work

Kennedy learned to quilt from her mother and sister, both named Indiana. She initially learned to quilt on scrap cloth, which her father brought home, and repurposed work clothes.[3] Her work is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art[4] and in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.[5]

References
  1. William Arnett; Bernard Herman (2006). Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Tinwood Books. pp. 54–. ISBN 978-0-9719104-7-8.
  2. John Beardsley; William Arnett; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Jane Livingston; Paul Arnett; Alvia J. Wardlaw (2002). The Quilts of Gee's Bend. Tinwood Books. pp. 110–. ISBN 978-0-9653766-4-8.
  3. "Nettie Jane Kennedy | Souls Grown Deep Foundation". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  4. "Basket-Weave quilt, 1973: Nettie Jane Kennedy". The MET. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  5. "Quilt | The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston". www.mfah.org. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved Apr 20, 2019.


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