Mary Simon (née Heidenroder)
Floral Bouquet
1844-1854
Physical Qualities
Cotton, ink, 18 1/4 x 18 in. (46.4 x 45.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Olive C. Slater
Object Number
1946.44b
The most ubiquitous designs on classic style Baltimore album quilts are those featuring floral bouquets, cornucopias, compotes, baskets, and vases filled to the brim with flowers and fruits. In some cases these motifs stand alone, while in others they are enclosed within wreaths in a lush late-neoclassical/Victorian mode. This square displays the layered appliqué, varied fabrics, and inked-in details of the classic Baltimore album style. It is one of a large group of album quilt squares given by Olive C. Slater in 1946.
Appliquéd motifs are often further embellished with additional layers of fabric sewn on top of the first, usually in a contrasting color or pattern. This method is employed in album quilts to give the illusion of depth and to add details, such as the eye of a bird, interior petals on a rose, or colorful dots on a butterfly's wings. In this square, multiple layers of appliqué suggest three-dimensionality and variation in color within individual floral designs.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1946; Ms. Olive C. Slater.
Exhibited at The Hecht Company, Baltimore, MD, Sept. 29-October 15, 1971 in connection with exhibit at BMA: Dena S. Katzenberg, Baltimore Museum of Art, The Great American Cover-Up: Counterpanes of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Oct. 24, 1971-Dec. 5, 1972. Exhibit catalog does not include any of these album quilt squares. [Receipt from BMA to Hecht Co., A 2100 dated September, 29 1971; Album quilt squares 1946.44 b, c, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, s, t.]
Exhibited at Hutzler's Department store, Baltimore, MD, November 12th and November 30th, 1971 in connection with exhibit at BMA: Dena S. Katzenberg, Baltimore Museum of Art, The Great American Cover-Up: Counterpanes of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Oct. 24, 1971-Dec. 5, 1972. [Receipt from BMA to Hutzler's Department Store, A 2128 dated November 12, 1971; Album quilt squares 1946.44 b, c, j, k, l, n, q, t.]
Dena S. Katzenberg, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts," 1980-1982, catalog does not include 1946.44b, Circulated to: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Nov. 18, 1980-Jan. 11, 1981; Metropolitan Museum, New York, June 30, 1981-Aug. 30, 1981; BMA Dec. 13, 1981-Feb. 7, 1982.
*this square may or may not have been shown in this exhibit.
Anita Jones, Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Jean and Allan Berman Textile Gallery, "Baltimore Album Quilts Revisited: A Matter of Style," 2nd rotation, July 3rd, 2008-Jan. 27th, 2009, no catalog.
Exhibited at Hutzler's Department store, Baltimore, MD, November 12th and November 30th, 1971 in connection with exhibit at BMA: Dena S. Katzenberg, Baltimore Museum of Art, The Great American Cover-Up: Counterpanes of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Oct. 24, 1971-Dec. 5, 1972. [Receipt from BMA to Hutzler's Department Store, A 2128 dated November 12, 1971; Album quilt squares 1946.44 b, c, j, k, l, n, q, t.]
Dena S. Katzenberg, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts," 1980-1982, catalog does not include 1946.44b, Circulated to: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Nov. 18, 1980-Jan. 11, 1981; Metropolitan Museum, New York, June 30, 1981-Aug. 30, 1981; BMA Dec. 13, 1981-Feb. 7, 1982.
*this square may or may not have been shown in this exhibit.
Anita Jones, Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Jean and Allan Berman Textile Gallery, "Baltimore Album Quilts Revisited: A Matter of Style," 2nd rotation, July 3rd, 2008-Jan. 27th, 2009, no catalog.
Inscribed: "Mary A. Sultzer" (inked)
Designer
Mary Simon (née Heidenroder)
1809–1892
German, 1810 - 1893
Meet Mary Simon (née Heidenroder)
