Luvata Bowles was born 1889 at Henderson, Kentucky. She Died 1989 at Champaign, Illinois. She was featured in the Covering our Heritage: African-American Quilts of Champaign-Urbana exhibit held at Krannert Art Museum in 1994. Mrs. Bowles was the mother of eight children. Among her children were Destin Bowles of Chicago, Theola Murphy of Evanston and Alora Bowles of Champaign. Her husband was Theotto Bowles. She gave this quilt to her good friend, Mary McCoy, over seventeen years ago.
The following comes from an 1983 portrait of Ms. Bowles:
"Born in Henderson, Kentucky, in 1896, Mrs. Bowles came to Champaign with her husband in 1928. In order to help support her eight children she worked as a cook on the University of Illinois campus for twenty-five years. "I'm most proud that I was able to work and put my children through school."
Luvata Bowles, 1983
