Oil Study of Sleeping Baby on an African American quilt
ca. 1937
Oil on Masonite
12” x 16”
This study for Sleeping Baby is interesting because it was actually used as a study for two paintings. In typical Ruth Starr Rose fashion, nothing was ever wasted, and she recycled the Masonite board for a study of a baby sleeping on an African American quilt, with a quick oil painting sketch of a mule-driven sleigh in front of the old laundry at Hope! It is interesting to see how the artist grappled with placing the baby on the quilt, and also to note the interesting detail of the quilt with its feathery red, green, and white geometric patterns.