Lady of the Lake, about 1885
Cottons
Probably Ohio
79 x 69 in.
Collection of Eleanor Bingham Miller L2010.42.18

Amid the increasingly dense visual culture of the late nineteenth century (think, for example, of the cluttered Victorian parlors seen in many period photographs), red and white quilts provided an alternative to the increasing visual complexity of American quilting of the period. Popular from about 1880 until about 1920, red and white quilts came in a variety of patterns, some quite detailed and others quite simple. Most used plain red fabric.