Quilt History Snippets - August, 2024

Kathy Moore • August 5, 2024

What:    Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton

Topic:   “Art and Quilts: 1950-1970”

Author:  Bets Ramsey


This month we are opening our reviews with volume number 13 and an article by long-time AQSG member Bets Ramsey. Ramsey provides some enlightening information about the early evolution of what we now call art quilts, but she refers to as “non-traditional quilts.” She notes specifically that in these early days the “Arts and Crafts Movement and the Bauhaus philosophy” were driving influences. Throughout the article Ramsey identifies “seven significant artists who are pioneers in creating quilts as art pieces and whose teaching, exhibiting and writing have affected and stimulated a wide audience…”. She further states, “the art quilts of the 1990s has a history which is directly related to the artist quilters of the 1950s and 1960s and to even earlier decades.” [p. 9]

 

Ramsey’s narrative begins with an exhibition of “modern art” quilts in 1992 in Shreveport, Louisiana that drew members of the public from both the traditional quilting community and the arts community for whom the use of quilts was not a familiar art form. What follows is her explication of how “the way was being prepared” for such a quilt exhibition. Ramsey names prominent players and publications involved in publishing information and observations of this ground-breaking exhibition.

 

There are dates noted of succeeding exhibitions and individuals who were prominent as the decades progressed, then Ramsey regresses to previous developments leading up to the brightness of the 1970s and beyond when art and quilts became a prominent means of expression among emerging artists. What follows is an enlightening discussion of the Bauhaus movement and the growth of the Arts and Crafts movement, again naming names and dates and describing techniques used by these practitioners and their methods as well as tastemakers responsible for spreading these developments to the public at large. Jean Ray Laury figures prominently in Ramsey’s article along with a number of other names unfamiliar to me.

 

This is a rich and informative article which broadened my understanding and appreciation of the art quilt movement. Coming from someone who was a contemporary of many of these artist/quiltmakers, and someone with academic training in art and design, lends credibility and authority to her article. It is a foundational read for all of us who struggle to understand where, when, and how the art quilt movement came to be what it is today.

 

If you do not have a copy of this, or any, edition of Uncoverings, check the publication list on the AQSG website to see if the particular volume is available…many still are. To access an online version of any issue of Uncoverings find the links at the AQSG website or the Quilt Index at www.quiltindex.org. As always, you can contact me at kmoore81@austin.rr.com.

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Quilt History Snippets - March 2025

By Kathy Moore • March 6, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “Prizes from the Plains: Nebraska State Fair Award-Winning Quilts and Quiltmakers” Author: Mary Jane Furgason and Patricia Cox Crews You may recognize the name of one of these authors. During her academic career at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Patricia Cox Crews was a faculty member in the department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, was at the center of organizational events developing the International Quilt Study Center and Museum (IQSCM) – now known as the International Quilt Museum, and she served as the first Director of the IQSCM. Her scholarly work stands on the authority of her lifetime of scholarship in textile research and reporting. Additionally, Crews was a co-author of the book, Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers, based on the results of that state’s documentation project conducted from 1987 to 1989. This article presents the results of extensive analysis of the records of the Nebraska State Fair. Using a scholarly approach to the information they applied a material culture approach to data that was collected from Fair entries and premium offerings. The stated goal was to better understand the cultural impact of quiltmaking on the state. [p.188] The authors found that their study of the premiums offered at the State Fair “reflected economic and social changes within the state” with the rise and fall of premiums as well as “inequities based on gender.” [p.188] Combined with information from almost three thousand quilts documented by the state documentation project the authors were able to add information on the levels of education, economic status, aesthetic design preferences – even ethnic heritages of Nebraska quiltmakers. [p. 189] This very thorough report on Nebraska quiltmaking practices and those of the State Fair’s naming of categories and awarding of premiums, while it may not reveal unexpected surprises, validates economic and cultural changes over the decades in other areas of Nebraskan and American history from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For those interested in the growth and development as well and the influences of State Fairs this report and its extensive Endnotes section should be a source of authoritative scholarly information. If you don’t have a copy of this issue of Uncoverings, you can access it at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aqsg or on the Quilt Index database at the AQSG collection link.

Quilt History Snippets - January 2025

By Kathy Moore • January 8, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “Surfacing: The Inevitable Rise of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network” Author: Sandra K. German

Quilt History Snippets - December 2024

By Kathy Moore • December 5, 2024
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “The Smithsonian Quilt Controversy: Cultural Dislocation” Author: Judy Elsley
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