America Irby

Biography

America Irby (1916-1993) was an African American artist. She is associated with the Gee’s Bend quilting collective located in Alabama. She participated in “string quilt” making, a way of making quilts without patterns that were often constructed from scrap cloth and found material. America Irby’s work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

America Irby is daughter to Lucy Burpo and Jake Irby. She is mother to Mensie Lee Pettway (1939) who was also associated with the Gee’s bend quilting collective.

List of Exhibitions

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

June 4 – September 4, 2006

The Quilts of Gee's Bend

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

September 6 – November 10, 2002

References

↑ "How a small Alabama community stitched itself into the history of American art". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
1 2 "America Irby | Souls Grown Deep". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
1 2 "Center medallion, c. 1940 by America Irby - Paper Print - Souls Grown Deep Custom Prints - Custom Prints and Framing From the Souls Grown Deep". Souls Grown Deep. Retrieved 2026-10-20.

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[1] "How a small Alabama community stitched itself into the history of American art". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2026-10-20.

[soulsgrowndeep-2] 1 2 "America Irby | Souls Grown Deep". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Retrieved 2026-10-20.

[soulsgrowndeep-2-3] 1 2 "Center medallion, c. 1940 by America Irby - Paper Print - Souls Grown Deep Custom Prints - Custom Prints and Framing From the Souls Grown Deep". Souls Grown Deep. Retrieved 2026-10-20.