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Sylvia Plath Quilt

Date1980
Label TextIn homage to a courageous poet, this quilt is loaded with images that Sylvia Plath would no doubt find praiseworthy-bees, their stings and swarms, and skulls of death, with its effect on us all. Both circle around part of her 1963 poem Lady Lazarus: "Dying/ is an art, like everything else. / I do it exceptionally well." For a further look at this quilt, including a visit to Ross Palmer Beecher's studio and a discussion with her, please consult the Close Ups link at the museum's website.
Here they come, the outriders, on their hysterical elastics. If I stand very still, they will think I am cow parsley.

– Sylvia Plath, The Bee Meeting.

Irreverent and observant, Ross Palmer Beecher gravitated toward the poetry of Sylvia Plath because, as she says, "She's dark and I'm dark." Beecher spent two years composing and hand stitching a quilt to honor this American poet. At the center are two lines from the poem "Lady Lazarus": "Dying is an art. Like everything else, I do it exceptionally well." The stitching and patches are loaded with references—to bees, to dying, to graveyards and to another woman's compulsive behavior. Since making this quilt, Beecher has gone on to create quilts from unconventional materials to commemorate many different heroes and sheroes and offer her own version of American history. A visit to her studio reveals her unflinching magic.
Object number98.86
Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia
I am the magician's girl who does not flinch.
Sylvia Plath, from "The Bee Meeting," 1962
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Dis-Figured", May 31, 2001 - March 17, 2002 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "First Person Singular/Dis-Figured", May 31, 2001- March 17, 2002 (5/31/2001- 3/17/2002) Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Testimonies: The Art of Ross Palmer Beecher and Barbara Earl Thomas", August 20, 1998 - January 24, 1999, (8/20/1998-1/24/1999)Published References"Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures." London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007, p. 45 cf., Darling, Michael et al. "Betty Bowen Award: Thirty Years." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 2009, pp. 58-59
Credit LineMark Tobey Estate Fund
Dimensions94 x 68 in. (238.8 x 172.7 cm)
MediumFabric and woodcut
late 19th century
Object number: 2010.33
Photo: Paul Macapia
2003
Object number: 2005.199
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Image courtesy of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection. Photo: Margrit Olsen
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1998
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