Bedspread c. 1936

Mary Berner made this ‘Bedspread’ in, well, we don’t exactly know when! It's a world of clovers and hearts, a hand-drawn textile dream. I imagine Mary with her colored pencils, each stroke a tiny, loving decision. What’s so arresting for me is the mix of motifs — the symmetry of the clovers, the spontaneous scattering of those little hearts. You can feel the rhythmic, meditative process, how it might have calmed her, how the repeated forms become almost like a mantra. I feel echoes of Gee’s Bend quilts here, that same resourceful spirit, transforming the everyday into something extraordinary. And of course, Agnes Martin and her grids come to mind. Although Agnes was working in a totally different medium, there is something similar in the dedication to simple forms. This bedspread whispers of warmth, patience, and the quiet power of seeing the world through a gentle, repeating pattern. Mary speaks to us across time, her colors still so fresh, her intention so clear.