American Quilting
Metropolitan Museum of Art
June 15, 2016 - November 15, 2016
Below is a collection of resources--electronic, textual, and visual--that will aid you in learning about the exhibition that is coming to the Metropolitan Museum next summer. These will also be excellent sources of information to pass on to patrons who want to know more about American quilting, and the fine examples that are going to be exhibited. All of the textual resources can be found in the libraries of the museum, and call numbers are listed.
Please also read the following Huffington Post article about the original exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum, and view the AFAM's online record of the exhibition to familiarize yourself with the specific quilts we will be displaying.
Electronic Resources
Emporia State University - History of Quilting, by Julie Johnson
Julie Johnson discusses briefly the history behind the word ‘quilt’, and its development and eventual emergence in western culture. She gives more detail to the role quilting played on the American Great Plains as people began to move further west in the 19th century.
Smithsonian Magazine - Fabric of Their Lives
Quilting as a communal and family activity in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. This article in Smithsonian talks about how quilting became part of the fabric of the small town’s culture, and how it helped and touched the lives of its residents, and how quilting as a pastime and a family tradition was passed down from mother to daughter through generations. A look at the social aspect of quilting in rural America.
The Encyclopedia of American Folk Art - Quilting
The Encyclopedia of American Folk Art offers an in-depth look at quilting, it’s history in the United States, and what patterns or materials have passed in and out of popularity as the decades have moved on. There is an extensive bibliography at the bottom of the webpage, which offers a variety of textual sources in which one can read about both quilting history and methodology.
Quilting 101 - Quilt Making Tips and Resources
This page, and the resources it holds, cater to those who would like to learn more about the process of quilting, and potentially start their own quilt. It teaches the reader about choosing patterns and fabrics, and doing binding and stitching.
Studio Art Quilt Association
The Studio Art Quilt Associates are a non-profit international organization of artists and other professionals who document the artquilt movement through creation and exhibition. They create and publish catalogs and portfolios, and offer professional development opportunities for artists and gallery managers. They also offer a wide range of articles and resources that cover the methodology and principles behind the artquilt movement.
The Quilt Index
Michigan State University Museum’s project in conjunction with Matrix and the Quilt Alliance to preserve images and stories about quilts and their meanings and individual histories, as well as their artists. It is a free database, consisting of more than 50,000 entries, composed of previously-assembled collections from across the US, and the world. Users can browse by collection, or visit the Quilt Index blog at www.quiltindex.org/news/. There is also a collection of essays by famous quilt historians.
The International Quilt Study Center and Museum, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
The IQSCM at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln has an online collection of quilts that is searchable by state, by pattern, or by quiltmaker, among nearly a dozen other searchable criteria, and extensive metadata is given about each quilt listed. There are also dozens of online exhibitions viewable through the website free of charge, and each quilt featured has a lengthy description of color, fabric, technique, and the history behind them.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt
This is website for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, begun in 1987 by friends and lovers who worried that those who died from the disease would be forgotten. It now tours the United States, is composed of thousands of panels featuring individuals’ names. The foundation also funds HIV and AIDS research
Textual Resources
Unconventional & Unexpected : American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000
Roderick Kiracofe
Kiracofe celebrates quilting in the little-documented second half of the twentieth century, where traditional patterns were cast aside and new expressions took their place. Includes essays by other quilting experts and renowned collectors who lay a societal framework for these eccentric textiles.
This resource is available in the Watson Library and the Antonio Ratti Textile Center.
Call Number -- TT835 .K523 2014
Quilts : Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum
Elizabeth V. Warren
This resource includes full page image reproductions, and two hundred quilts from the American Folk Art Museum, many of which are included in the exhibition brought to our museum. Warren discusses the role of women in art, through the creation of quilts as both art and functional household items. She also discusses how women and their communities told stories through the creation of quilted patterns.
This book is available in the Watson Library Stacks and the American Wing Library.
Call Number -- NK9112 .W37 2010
Portfolio 21 : the Art Quilt Sourcebook
Studio Art Quilt Associates
This is the 2014 collective portfolio of the international non-profit organization SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates). The group is an information source for all things related to the art quilt movement. 225 member artists are represented in this book. Includes mostly color illustrations. Previous issues of Portfolio are also available in the library.
This resource is not held on site, so please request it in advance.
And Still We Rise : Race, Culture and Visual Conversations
Carolyn L. Mazloomi
This book is the collection of works by 69 quilting artists, tracing the path of black history in the United States, from the first slaves brought on the Dutch trading ships in 1619, to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president. The artists include annotations explaining their quilts and the scenes represented within.
This resource is not held on site, so please request it ahead of time.
Amish Quilts : Crafting an American Icon
Janneken Smucker
Written by a fifth-generation Mennonite quiltmaker, Janneken Smucker, who explores the history of Amish quiltmaking, and what makes an Amish quilt specifically Amish. She explains the development of this craft from a necessary household item, to a business that has become a favorite souvenir of tourists and other visitors to the communities. Includes a wide array of archival sources, such as newspaper and ephemera, and high-resolution colored photographs.
This resource is available in the American Wing Library.
Call Number -- NK9112 .S625 2013
Red & White Quilts : Infinite Variety
Presented by the American Folk Art Museum
Elizabeth Warren with Maggi Gordon
This is a catalog put together by Elizabeth Warren and Maggi Gordon describing the development of red and white quilts over the last three centuries. She features over 650 quilts in patterns like the Log Cabin or Baltimore Style. It features quilts housed in the American Folk Art Museum.
This resource is available in the Watson Library, the Nolan Library, and in Textile Conservation.
The Quilt National
The Quilt National is a biennial exhibition of modern quilt art held in Athens, Ohio. It is the largest show of its kind,and select quilts tour the US after each exhibition. There is a catalog printed after the exhibition featuring the best of the quilts exhibited.
The Antonio Ratti Textile Center hold the catalogs from 2005, 2007, and 2013. 2011 and 2009 are available in the Watson Library.
Visual Resources
Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics
The Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc.
A nine-part documentary series by the Kentucky Quilt Project discussing the history of quilts, their role in society, and their seat at the center of topics such as women’s studies and American politics. The segments include the quilt marketplaces across America, the histories embedded in the fabric, and women’s empowerment through quilting.
This resource is available in the Nolan Library.
Call Number -- NK2115.5.Q54 W49 2011
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