Alice Black Hooked Rug Tapestry

Alice Black’s work is uniquely American. Working in a craft that became popular in the late 19th century in the North East, she used textiles pulled through a backing with a hook, to create her rugs. 

Hooked rugs are thought to have been brought to Scotland by the Vikings, though grew in popularity in Yorkshire England in the mid 19th century. The many textile mills in the region would allow workers to take home scraps of fabric, which they used to create decorative floor coverings and wall coverings to keep out the cold. 

Alice Black’s hooked rugs play with symbols and imagery in a modern primitive style. Her artwork drew inspiration from Turkish kilims, African tribal patterns, Native American weavings, and European traditions, to note only a few. 

This tapestry has images farm animals within a border of wheat. Ancient and traditional imagery, reworked in a style that is both modern and primitive. The textile measures 25” x 57”.