Bedcover
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; quilted and stitched in trapunto technique
Dimensions
235.7 × 231.1 cm (92 3/4 × 91 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
53003
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The execution of this elegant bedcover required great skill and an immense commitment of time on the part of the maker. In the 18th century, white bedcovers were mainly a privilege of the wealthy, as they were difficult to keep clean, but American production of cotton reduced the monetary investment involved in whole cloth quilts. A direct descendent of John Whittlesey (1623–1704), an original settler of Saybrook, Connecticut, Ursula Whittlesey was the daughter of Ambrose Whittlesey (a sailor by...