Annie E. Pettway

Annie E. Pettway (1904–1972) was an American artist associated with the Gee's Bend quilting collective.[1][2] Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and is included in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.[3][4]

Early life

According to her son, Sheriff Willie Quill Pettway, in an interview with the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Annie E. Pettway was born on June 18, 1904, to Austin H. Pettway and Leetha Pettway and was one of ten children.[3]

She later married Ed. O Pettway. Sheriff Willie Quill Pettway describes the confusion over his father's name:

"She was married to Ed O.—they said Pettway, but he was a Williams. They changed his name to Pettway because he was living on the Pettway place, and they had to change their name as long as they stay on the place. So, when they took up the census, that’s what he kept his name: Pettway. His father was Ottoway Williams. He had changed his name to Pettway, too."[3]

Together, Ed and Annie had nine children – five boys and four girls. Her son described her as a "housewife and a fieldworker," doing every task imaginable to keep the farm and family running.[3]

Work

Sheriff Pettway describes piecing quilts as a necessity to protect and keep her family warm. It is a tradition that she passed to her daughters and her granddaughters.[3]

References

1. Beardsley, John; Arnett, William; Arnett, Paul; Livingston, Jane (2002). Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Tinwood Books. p. 309. ISBN 9780971910409.
2. Arnett, William; Herman, Bernard (2006). Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Tinwood Books. p. 189. ISBN 9780971910478.
3. "Annie E. Pettway | Souls Grown Deep Foundation". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
4. "Philadelphia Museum of Art Expands African American Art Collection". Art & Object. Retrieved 2019-04-21.