NEWARK, NJ.- The Newark Museum’s newest American art exhibition features 36 unique quilts from its internationally known quilt collection, including new acquisitions, some never before shown here. Quilt Masterpieces from Folk Art to Fine Art explores the major role that this art form has played in the creative and communal lives of women throughout American history. These quilts, ranging from the late 18th century to the late 20th century, tell the stories of the women who made them and the people around them; they communicate their values, social concerns and political views. Except for one, all of the quilts in the Museum’s collection were made by women – Native American, African American, Asian American, European American women – who passed down traditions, styles, designs and fabric from one generation to the next in an attempt to express themselves. One special addition, on loan for this exhibition, which opens on October 17, is a modern album quilt made by fourteen men and women who survived the Holocaust.
“The Newark Museum recognized the value of this great indigenous folk art form early on,” stated the Museum’s Curator of Decorative Arts, Ulysses Grant Dietz, “and they bought their first quilt in 1918.” Referring to the opportunity to display the rarely seen quilts, he expressed delight. “Because they’re quite fragile and need protection from the damaging light, we can’t show them often,” he said. “For the first time in my 23 years here, we were able to undertake extensive conservation of many of the quilts from the collection.”
The Coby Foundation, Ltd. underwrote a large part of the conservation effort, as did the Bay Foundation and the New Jersey Historical Commission. The Garden State Quilters and the Harvest Quilters of Central New Jersey also provided support for this project. Mr. Dietz was assisted by Debra Blehart, Coby Foundation Intern and Consulting Curator, who organized the exhibition.
Quilt Masterpieces from Folk Art to Fine Art is divided into four basic sections: (1) The Face of Quilts; (2) The Social Fabric of Quilts; (3) Quilted Memories; and (4) Contemporary Voices in Quilting. For a three month period, visitors can explore a remarkable range of treasures, from the Museum’s first purchase – Wild Goose Chase – made by an unknown artist sometime between 1800 and 1830 to the last one – Potholders and Dervishes Plus – made by Sandy Benjamin-Hannibal of Brooklyn, New York in 1996.
Section 1, The Face of Quilts. The making of a quilt was a labor of love that required an enormous amount of time, patience and labor. Early 19th century quilts were made entirely by hand, intricate in design, requiring incredible patience and skill. The Star of Bethlehem quilt, for example, made in Perth Amboy, NJ in the early1800s, consists of 800 tiny diamond-shaped pieces of printed cotton aligned perfectly so that the pattern is never unbalanced. Another, Hexagon Patch, started in 1792, was worked on for more than a decade by a mother and daughter who cut each patch from a pasteboard pattern and then basted it to a second pattern cut from newspaper; they then attached together the patches with 50 to 60 hand-sewn stitches. Information about the layers that define a quilt (top, bottom and filling), the elements of design, such as piecing, applique and embroidery is offered here, as well as stitching, stuffing, cording, framing and finishing.
Section 2, The Social Fabric of Quilts. Although quilts were made by individuals, the final joining together of the quilt was done with the family or community. Known as “quiltings,” these community meetings of kin and friends were an important part of the social fabric of 19th century life. One of the few occasions when women could meet regularly, a quilting was an opportunity to share patterns or traditions for a special wedding quilt while discussing issues such as religion, social reform or politics. Susan B. Anthony gave one of her first speeches defending the equal rights of women at a quilting. Commemorative Album Quilt, made in 1852, is an illustration of a token of affection that also conveyed the makers’ sympathy for the Hungarians fighting for their freedom from the Austrian Empire.
Section 3, Quilted Memories. A unique and personal way of expressing love or thanks, quilts were always popular choices for gifts and commemorations. By the middle of the 19th century, a new form of quilt, the “album quilt,” began to appear with increasing frequency. The romantic desire to commemorate and memorialize major events influenced the popularity of quilts. Each block of this quilt type is like a page in an album, often initialed or signed by one or more people. One of the most extraordinary examples of this type of quilt is Bride’s Quilt, made as a remembrance of Emeline Dean’s childhood home in East Orange, New Jersey when she left it to marry.
Another type of memory quilt, the “crazy quilt” became popular in the early 1880s. This new craze, inspired by Japanese textiles and design as part of the Aesthetic Movement, offered an opportunity for individuality and originality in an era of rigid Victorian social rules. Map Crazy Quilt, which was made by Mrs. A. E. Reasoner in 1815, commemorates her husband’s occupation as superintendent of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. It is one of only two known map quilts.
Section 4, Contemporary Voices in Quilting. Quilts continue to play an important communal for women in contemporary society. Many modern day quilts are created solely as works of art, such as Rhythm/Color: Spanish Dance, made in 1985 by Michael James, (the only male quilter in the exhibition), who was trained as an abstract painter in the 1970s. Joy Saville’s 1984 Interruptions is another example that demonstrates the transition in American quilting from function to personal meaning.
Other quilts continue to be commemorative expressions of artistic and cultural traditions, adapted, changed or combined with other communal expressions to create exciting new variations. In 1991-1992, Debbie Lee, a native of China, used specific symbols, fabric and patterns to create Phantoms in a Chinese Restaurant as an expression of the complex emotions and images of growing up in America. Nellie Two Bulls, a Lakota Sioux woman from the American plains, produced Star Quilt in 1984 which uses symbolism relating to Native American mythology. Recently acquired quilts made by African American women in the twentieth century, such as Faith Ringgold’s Slave-Rape Story, draw on the textile and story-telling traditions of Africa.
In addition to the Museum’s collection, there is a quilt on loan especially for this exhibition. Entitled Patchwork of Memories, this modern album quilt, borrowed from the Jewish Family Service of Metro West, was created in 2002 by a group of fourteen men and women, all survivors of the Holocaust. Each block transforms a memory into art.
Quilt Masterpieces from Folk Art to Fine Art offers an opportunity to explore the designs, fabric, technology, creativity and spirit of contemporary quilters as well as their historical predecessors. While much about quilting has evolved, their purpose remains the same. They are beautiful objects of personal expression, with stories that are part of the fabric of American history.
