Save the Babies, 1992

Cotton and synthetic fabric, embroidery thread, metallic embroidery thread, beads, shells, sequins, buttons, and cotton on polyester canvas backing
© Estate of Elizabeth Talford Scott; courtesy of Goya Contemporary. Photo by Ian Reeves.

Elizabeth Talford Scott was a fiber artist known for her quilts and mixed-media compositions. The sixth of fourteen children, she was born at Blackstock Plantation near Chester, South Carolina, where her family lived as sharecroppers and her grandparents had previously been enslaved. Scott was raised by a family of craftspeople who practiced a multitude of techniques, including needlework, knitting, basketry, pottery, and metalwork. Learned out of necessity, these skills, which were passed down through generations, facilitated the creation of essential utilitarian objects from repurposed materials. Obliged to prioritize paid employment and caregiving for many years, the artist was most prolific in later life. Save the Babies is part of a series of works made in the loosely defined shape of a shield. For the artist, this shape, thought to be capable of protection and healing, was representative of the works’ spiritual and talismanic qualities.