Collection: The Quilt Codes of the Underground Railroad

This body of Underground Railroad art explores the powerful role quilts played as silent messengers during one of the most courageous resistance movements in American history.

Quilts were used to transmit coded messages to conductors of the Underground Railroad, guiding enslaved people toward freedom. Hung on fences or displayed from windows, these quilts communicated vital information in plain sight, right under the noses of slave owners, transforming everyday objects into tools of defiance.

This collection draws directly from historical quilt art, incorporating several of the essential patterns believed to carry these coded meanings. Each design reflects ingenuity, resilience, and collective resistance to tyranny. Throughout the history of the United States, people have risen against oppression in creative and extraordinary ways, and the Underground Railroad stands as a brilliant example of that courage.

Preserving and reinterpreting these quilts honors the legacy of those who resisted injustice and reminds us how art can serve as both survival and resistance.

Check out the collection of historical quilt art by Brooke at Hummingbird Fine Arts today, and let us help you find inspiration through unique and brilliantly crafted art that inspires.