Nora McKeown Ezell

Nora Lee McKeown Ezell (June 24, 1917 – September 6, 2007) was an African-American quilter from Mantua, Alabama. She was known for her unique storytelling quilts and for her intricate patterns. In 1990, Ezell received the Alabama Folk Heritage Award and in 1992 was named a National Heritage Fellow from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Biography Ezell was born in Brooksville, Mississippi, the fourth daughter out of 10 children. Her family later moved to Mantua, Alabama. As a child, she learned quilt and sew from watching her mother and sisters, and taught herself her own technique.

Ezell left school in the eleventh grade to get married. The marriage did not work out, and Ezell and her young family were thrust into poverty. Ezell supported herself by picking cotton and working as a maid. In her free time, she began quilting.

Ezell died in Tuscaloosa, Alabama of a stroke at age 88 on September 6, 2007. "Star Puzzle, Blazing Star variation" International Quilt Museum "Star Quilt", American Folk Art Museum "Everybody Quilt", American Quilt Study Center & Museum "A Tribute to Civil Righters of Alabama", Alabama Artist's Gallery “Everybody” or “Sampler”, Birmingham Museum of Art "Migration", Alabama Artists Gallery