U.S. Grant Coverlet 1939

Curator: Here we have John Thorsen’s "U.S. Grant Coverlet", created in 1939. It's primarily a textile design, but also includes drawing elements, showcasing Thorsen's interest in pattern and decoration. Editor: It's oddly…comforting? The repetitive patterns, like folk embroidery—despite the quite serious themes embedded within it. There is also the geometric structuring, that looks soft with the textile design itself. Curator: Precisely! Notice how Thorsen arranges motifs and patriotic iconography within defined horizontal bands. Words like "Virtue," "Liberty," "Independence," and "Grant" are interwoven with floral elements, eagles, and classical structures. This is very much in the style of decorative art, yet with these pronounced visual symbols. Editor: There is an intriguing duality. The coziness of the medium, a textile—something meant to offer warmth and security—contrasts so starkly with the rigidity of its formal design. The effect almost verges into the satirical, questioning the very narratives it depicts through the subversive charm of handicraft. Curator: Indeed. The strategic implementation of color within this seemingly casual arrangement—primarily reds, blues, and greens—allows the geometric patterns and design features to stand out against each other and provides more legibility to its many textual elements. Editor: Makes you think of an alternate reality quilt…each stitched patch bursting with history and revolution… but then softening under the weight of dreams. As if all this serious history fades under its quiet domestic use, over the gentle touch of wear and tear. Curator: It's interesting to look at the function of the title; ‘U.S. Grant Coverlet’; a seeming reference to the US Civil War General turned President; to imagine it displayed across a bed during the war itself as it would have played a different political function during this time. Editor: Absolutely; it reminds me of how personal histories intertwine and mingle, like dreams woven in cloth. There are no battles depicted directly, instead only words and imagery of strength and resolution. As the personal, and political, blur into the present, through a handmade, folk vision. Curator: Overall, it is a visually remarkable artwork with important themes relating to pattern and decorative design as a movement. Editor: Yes; both poignant and unexpectedly intimate— a silent scream tucked carefully within the weave of a blanket.