Classic American Quilts
13 March – 31 October 2010
America is not like a blanket – one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt – many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread…
(Jesse Jackson: ‘The Rainbow Coalition’ speech, 17 July 1984.)
In a special exhibition for 2010, the American Museum in Britain showcased some of its greatest quilt treasures. Boldly patterned Hawaiian and Amish quilts were on view, as well as pieces sewn by slave seamstresses and a Baltimore Album quilt over 10 feet square.
This exhibition celebrated the publication of a wonderful new book on the Museum’s world-renowned quilt collection – Classic Quilts from the American Museum in Britain (Scala Publishers) – lavishly illustrated by crisp colour images, with each example photographed in full and in detail.
Classic Quilts from The American Museum in Britain
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50 star pieces from the American Museum's quilt collection are showcased in this lavishly illustrated publication. Each entry features photographs of the full quilt, as well as detail shots of interesting design elements (such as signatures, quilting designs, and backing fabrics).
Quilts & Textiles
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Ranging from the eighteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, the American Museum’s collection of over 200 quilts is acclaimed as the finest of its type in Europe and the equal of many premier collections in the United States
