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Welcome to the “Year of the Quilt,” the
American Folk Art Museum’s celebration of a glorious American art form. This
exhibition is the first in a twelve-month series of shows, special events, and
educational programming organized by the museum to emphasize the creative
contributions of three centuries of talented women. Highlighting textile
masterpieces in the museum’s holdings, the exhibition includes recent gifts,
bedcovers that have rarely been exhibited, and important cornerstones of the
quilt collection. The presentation is in conjunction with a new publication that
illustrates two hundred of the museum’s most significant bedcovers.
The American quiltmaking tradition draws
from many sources but was first practiced by English immigrants to New England,
who used heavy wools to make warm bedcovers. From there, the skills to make
quilts spread south and west, changed constantly by influences brought on by
waves of new immigrants and their design motifs as well as by climate and
advances in technology, including the introduction of new dyes, the cotton gin,
synthetic fabrics, and, most important, the sewing machine.
Textiles were among the most valued family
possessions until far into the nineteenth century. Given the rarity of the
fabrics used in most of the historic quilts in the museum’s collection, the fine
workmanship, and the quilts’ well-preserved condition, it is clear that they are
examples of “best” bedcovers, saved for use on special occasions or when company
visited. Many thousands of everyday quilts from past generations, made from
scraps and subjected to hard daily use and the ravages of the washboard, rarely
survived.
It is important to consider each textile in
the context of the time and place in which it was made. As seen here, for
example, quilts made by Amish women differ greatly from those created by their
neighbors in non-Amish communities. During the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, when quilts no longer needed to be made for mere warmth,
quiltmakers used the form to express their creativity within the confines of
popular decorating trends, including the Aesthetic movement and the Colonial
Revival styles. In some cultures, however, including African American
communities in the South, quilts continued to be made primarily as bedcovers,
although many have seen a second life as works of fabric art.
Most recently, contemporary fiber artists
have taken the opportunity to transcend time and place, using the historical
concept of a quilt as a starting point for their artistic, and often social and
political, statements.
Elizabeth V. Warren
Guest Curator
Quilts: Masterworks from the American
Folk Art Museum” is sponsored by The Magazine Antiques. Additional support is
provided in part by the Leir Charitable Foundations in memory of Henry J. & Erna
D. Leir; the Gerard C. Wertkin Exhibition Fund; the New York City Department of
Cultural Affairs; and with public funds from the New York State Council on the
Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York
State’s 62 counties. This exhibition is supported in part by the Leir Charitable
Foundations in memory of Henry J. & Erna D. Leir; the Gerard C. Wertkin
Exhibition Fund; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and with
public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years
of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties. |
