Cuesta Benberry (September 8, 1923 – August 23, 2007) was an American historian and scholar. Considered to be one of the pioneers of research on quiltmaking in America, she was the pioneer of research on African-American quiltmaking. Her involvement in quilt research spans from founding and participating in various quilt groups to writing articles in renowned quilt magazines and journals. As a quilt scholar, Benberry acquired a collection of important quilts dating from the late 19th century up to the 21st century, as well as an extensive collection of paper documents supplementing quilting exhibitions, books, articles and her personal research.
Life
Cuesta Ray Benberry was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Benberry obtained a bachelor's degree in education from Stowe Teachers College (now Harris-Stowe State University). She later earned her MLS in library science from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. She worked in the St. Louis public schools for 40 years and retired from her job in 1985. She married George L. Benberry in 1951.
A visit to Kentucky to see her husband's family exposed Cuesta to quilts. She did not necessarily want to make the quilts, but was inclined to study the quilts. Mrs. Benberry looked at the individual in quiltmaking and African-American quiltmaking. She made extensive leaps in quilt research, especially in African-American quiltmaking.
In the early 1970s Benberry started to write for a small magazine based in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, Nimble Needle Treasures, which was unusual in that it published articles as well as patterns. When it was wound up in 1975 she began to write instead for Quilter's Newsletter, then the only magazine of its kind.
Cuesta Benberry died on August 23, 2007, at the age of 83. She was survived by her husband, her son, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Research
With her education and professional background in teaching, Benberry understood the nuances of teaching in an academic setting, as well as acquiring research capabilities from her graduate studies in library science. Benberry's academic background greatly contributed to her success as a quilt historian.
Benberry's interest in quilting began with her husband's family, who introduced her into the world of quilting as part of their family traditions. She was fascinated by the significance that quilts held in people's lives, "They're on the bed. They're there at birth. They're there at death. They're part of the marriage bed. They're part of our lives, and they give us so many memories… You'd call a quilt as you would a child. [Her mother-in-law would] lift up a trunk lid and say, 'Come see my Sugar Bowl'; she didn't say, 'Come see my blue and white quilt.' Then I wanted to learn more about their history." It was the emotional connection that quilts held in her husband's family that intrigued Benberry to explore the historical significance of quiltmaking in America.
Research focus
The information acquired through Benberry's research included information about African-American quiltmaking, to which she eventually narrowed her research focus. There was little previous research done on African-American quiltmaking so in addition to sorting through her own research and exhausting library resources, Benberry began to interview African-American quilt-makers and gathered information about slave-made quilts, as well as their personal take on the role of African-American quilt-makers in the realm of American quilt history. Benberry ventured away from previous theories on African-American quilt making that suggested visual criteria were the main determinant in qualifying a quilt as African-American. She countered the theories on African-American quilts being determined by one visual style (improvisational) by noting in her comprehensive research the differences in technique throughout several African-American quilts.
Benberry attributes the increased interest in African-American quiltmaking to three specific events: the inclusion of Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt in Selections of Nineteenth Century Afro-American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Regina Perry the essay "Harriet Powers: Portrait Quilter" written by Gladys-Marie Fry published in Missing Pieces: Georgia Folk Art, 1770–1776 the Mississippi quilt exhibition "More Than Just Something to Keep You Warm" by Roland Freeman.
Research methods
During her research, Benberry kept detailed notes, files, catalogues, correspondences and many other additional paper documents that are now being sorted and used as reference material for people interested in quilt research.
