Material & Memories

Elizabeth Talford Scott and the Crazy Quilt Tradition

Learning Resources

Black and white portrait of Scott smiling, both hands are held to her lower face. Her face and hands fill the frame.

Portrait of Elizabeth Talford Scott, 1997, Carl Clark Collection of George Ciscle, Baltimore, MD. ©Carl Clark, Courtesy the estate of Carl Clark/Linda Day Clark

Talford Scott’s work is the centerpiece of this collaborative exhibition, which engages the crazy quilt form in dialogue with responsive works by the African American Quilters of Baltimore and the antique quilts in MCHC’s collection. Crafted from the scraps of family members’ clothing and decorative household fabrics, these quilts are deeply personal “landscapes of memory.” Of Abstract #1, Elizabeth Talford Scott said, “This is a family quilt, all something from the family. Everything that I didn’t want to throw out, I saved a piece of it.”

In 1999, MCHC partnered with the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Exhibition Development Seminar to present Eyewinkers, Tumbleturds, and Candlebugs: The Art of Elizabeth Talford Scott, a retrospective of her work. Material and Memories reconnects MCHC as a community partner with the Baltimore Museum of Art’s anniversary show, presenting Talford Scott’s work at locations throughout Baltimore City.