In 1989, the National Gallery of Australia purchased a crazy style quilt sewn by Christina Brown. It's a stunning example of creativity and ingenuity, and it gives us a glimpse into the creative lives of women in Australia during the 1890's.
In 1989 the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra) purchased and preserved an extraordinary crazy style quilt now referred to as The Christina Brown Quilt.
Stitched at around 1890, this quilt is a masterpiece of artistic freedom, originality and ingenuity. It's a testament to Christina's remarkable needlework skills and a glimpse into the creative life of women during the late 18th century and the influences that shaped their artistic expression.
In today's Quilting 101 post I'm looking at the history of this amazing quilt, what life was like for women in Australia during the 1890's and how the Japanese influenced western creativity with its effortless style and appreciation for beauty.
Crazy quilting is often an overlooked artform in the modern quilting world, but to understand its intrinsic appeal and its value the Christina Brown Quilt is the perfect place to begin.
- left: Japanese art by Hokusai 1829-32.
- right: Earthenware bowl by Christopher Dresser (Britian) 1880
History of Crazy Quilting:
Historians agree that the popularity of crazy quilts soared in the last quarter of the 18th century due to the aesthetic impact of Japonisme - a French term referring to how Japanese art influenced the creativity of the western world.
The Japanese are believed to be instinctive decorators with a natural and effortless style that feels relaxed yet impressionable. They view the world with wonder, find joy in the ordinary and celebrate life and its fleeting beauty with passion and respect.
During the 18th century, Japan was in its Edo period (1603-1868) and its art was vibrant and intricate, influencing western artists when trade began in 1853. The west fell in love with all things Japanese and were inspired by their abstract approach to colour, composition, asymmetry and negative space.
This intricate, carefree style was adopted by artists of all kinds, including quilters.
Crazy quilts allowed those in less fortunate households to make necessity quilts from odd scraps or random fabrics. But these quilts also became popular in the homes of upper-class ladies as part of the avant garde movement - a new form of artistic expression that rejected traditional conventions and pushed the boundaries of traditional patchwork.
Traditional quilts were crafted with repetitive designs in soft or inviting, homey colours and were generally constructed from cotton. Crazy quilts broke all the rules, incorporated rich fabrics such as silk, satin, damask or velvet, and were embroidered over the top with gold or silver silk threads.
Fabric placement was random, and this method of construction meant scraps deemed unusable in traditional piecing now had a purpose. This fractured, scrappy base became the canvas for the labour intensive embroidery designs used to secure the fabric, highlighting the needle skills and patience of the maker.
There was no limit to the types of stitches, thread colours or combination of designs used in a crazy quilt giving the maker absolute freedom in creativity and design.
Australia During the 1890's
The 1890's was a difficult time for Australia. The economy was the worst the country had ever seen, there was conflict between management and workers, women were advocating for their right to vote and demanding equal rights, Federation was in the early stages and political parties began to emerge.
The home was still the primary workplace for women, but we also saw women being employed for their typing and shorthand skills in offices where they were paid far less than their male colleagues.
Women married early in life and family numbers were large due to lack of contraception or any general understanding of how the female body worked. Homelife was laborious and relentless, and electricity wasn't common in all homes, so daily tasks took their toll on women's physical health.
The life expectancy for an Australian male was 47.2 years and for an Australian female 50.8 years.
It was a hard life during difficult times and women were resourceful with supplies, over worked in the home and underpaid in the office, and maintained large families with minimal support.
{photo from Google Images}
Who was Christina Brown?
Christina Brown was born in the United Kingdom in 1815 and died in Australia in 1895. She immigrated to Australia in 1842 with her Scottish husband Andrew Brown.
She was the mother of three children, and they lived on a property in New South Wales called Cooerwull at Bowenfels, a small town on the western outskirts of Lithgow. The property was named for the blue bell like flowers found in the region.
Her husband Andrew had been given 200 acres back in the 1820's and built a simple cottage which he then extended during the 30's and 40's. The addition of the kitchen was believed to be overseen by Christina on her arrival to the homestead as a new bride.
Andrew Brown was instrumental in the development of Australia's pastoral industry and by the 1850's Cooerwull was shearing thousands of sheep. Brown had built a mill for processing his wheat, which would later become his first mill to manufacture woolen tweeds (until 1973) including military khakis for the Australian Army. He also built a church and school on the site which functioned as an academy for eighty boys.
The Brown family were prominent in the community, provided employment to the region and shaped the towns development.
Christina made this stunning crazy style quilt in 1890 when she was in her seventies. Access to women's domestic manuals and magazines which published crazy patchwork and embroidery designs, would have influenced her creative life at the time.
The Christina Brown Quilt
The Christina Brown Quilt measures a generous 1810 mm (71") x 1460mm (57") and consists of 167 unique fabrics, most of them being silks but Christina has also included velvets, tartans and satin.
The quilt consists of twelve crazy patchwork blocks that have been individually hand sewn and embroidered. The twelve blocks have then been machine sewn together in a 3 x 4 grid using a machine chainstitch.
A maroon silk border frames the quilt and is decorated with embroidered daisies and tendrils.
In the block embroidery, the Japanese influence of sunflowers, a symbol of cheerfulness and loyalty and butterflies, a symbol of transformation and rebirth can be seen which were aesthetics of the time.
Although Christina has used the customary geometric patterns for the block backgrounds, she has included several circles for the foreground which were heavily influenced by Japanese plates or fans, or by the Japanese mons or Kamon which are traditional family crests that symbolise heritage and are used to identify individuals, families and institutions.
Various initials are embroidered throughout the quilt, representing her husband and their three children. The flowers in the quilt border are believed to be native and abundant to the region and share the name of their homestead, Cooerwull - a Wiradjuri word for small blue flower growing there.
According to the National Gallery Of Australia:
"The quilt consists of three layers, but the central layer is not padding.
The crazy patch pieces were sewn together, and this was lined with white cotton fabric prior to the embroidery at edges of the 12 panels being placed. This in turn lined with a fine blue silk." NGA
The National Gallery of Australia purchased the Christina Brown Quilt from a private collector in 1989 and values it as an important part of the history of Lithgrow and Australia from the 1890's. They also have a collection of exquisite pottery from the same region and time frame.
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The Christina Brown Quilt is a stunning example of crazy quilting. It highlights the beauty and harmony of unequal, fractured and random geometric parts pieced together to create a mesmerising quilt - just like the mosaic compositions of Japanese art.
It informally weaves vibrant colour and sensory texture as the base for its complex and decorative embroidery.
Throughout the quilt you'll find embroidered daisies, strawberries, children at play, initials, cornucopias, grapes, wreaths, butterflies, baskets, maple leaves, fuchsias and so much more - a visual feast that relates Christina's story in both a playful and liberating art form.
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Crazy quilts are a beautiful form of self-expression that became popular in a time when women did not have a voice and were encouraged to stay at home and pursue activities suitable to their gender.
Despite their chaotic appearance, crazy quilts have been carefully planned with skillful execution and freedom of expression. The choice of fabrics, colours and embroidery designs are a deep-rooted form of storytelling and symbolism, and an innovative way to be resourceful with fabrics and creative with design.
Modern crazy quilting tends to be more structured with the use of digital software, but it still incorporates the makers individuality and the art of skillful stitching - a wonderful, liberating quilting journey to explore if you haven't already.
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Happy quilting :)
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