All works › The Art Institute of Chicago

John L. Sullivan Quilt

Unknown artist, c. 1890

2.02 m × 2.1 m

Taller than a doorway. Stood on end it is 1.2 people tall.

Against things you know the size of

Height: 2.1 m
Width: 2.02 m
Medium: Pieced and embroidered “crazy” quilt top; dyed and printed silk, cotton, wool and metallic, plain, twill, satin, velvet and patterned weave fabrics and ribbons; silk, metallic and cotton embroidery threads
Kind: Textile
Made in: Illinois
Where the measurement comes from: Measured by the museum. The dimension is the one recorded by the institution that holds the work.
As the museum records it: 209.6 × 201.9 cm (82 1/2 × 79 1/2 in.)
Credit: Purchased with funds provided by the Margaret Cavigga Trust

Five questions, answered from its own record. What is AGAI?

How big is it?: 2.02 m × 2.1 m. Taller than a doorway. Measured by the museum.
When was it made, and when is it everyone’s?: Made c. 1890. It is in the public domain, and The Art Institute of Chicago publishes it for open use.
Whose is it?: Everyone’s to see. It is held by The Art Institute of Chicago: Purchased with funds provided by the Margaret Cavigga Trust.
How was it made?: Pieced and embroidered “crazy” quilt top; dyed and printed silk, cotton, wool and metallic, plain, twill, satin, velvet and patterned weave fabrics and ribbons; silk, metallic and cotton embroidery threads, made in Illinois.
Who speaks for it?: Its record at The Art Institute of Chicago. Measured by the museum. This gallery adds nothing it cannot cite.

One email. The smallest thing in the collection, the largest, and two that hang well together.

Scored on colour, shape, era and scale, the same way the gallery hangs them.