Remembering Names
Artist
Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton
(American, 1909 - 1993)
Date1988
MediumPencil and colored pencil on paper
DimensionsUnframed: 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.88 cm)
Framed: 41 x 31 x 1 1/4 inches (104.14 x 78.74 x 3.18 cm)
Framed: 41 x 31 x 1 1/4 inches (104.14 x 78.74 x 3.18 cm)
Credit LineGift of Don Lambert in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Object number2009.51
SignedLower right corner in pencil: Grandma Layton June 6, 1988
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis line drawing depicts an old woman in the center of the composition. Above her head and surrounding her body is an arching patch-work quilt representing the globe. Names are written upon it. The woman is stitching a yellow piece of cloth, and a button on her clothing says "The Names Project."Gallery LabelElizabeth “Grandma” Layton, a native of Wellsville, Kansas, was struggling with bipolar illness and profound depression when she enrolled in a contour drawing class in 1977 at the age of 68. The technique of blind contour drawing, in which the artist looks in a mirror while drawing and only briefly glances at the paper for points of reference, enabled Layton to liberate emotions and aided her recovery.
Remembering Names is Layton’s tribute to the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which celebrates the lives of people who died of HIV/AIDS. In the drawing, Layton depicts herself weeping as she stitches a yellow cloth. A patchwork quilt in the shape of the globe surrounds her. Upon each square is the name of a beloved person lost to this modern plague.
Copyright© Don Lambert
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
