An American Treasury

NEW YORK CITY -- The Museum of American Folk Art takes quilts seriously. Quilt exhibitions are an almost annual occurrence at the gallery, and exhibitions of quilts from the museum's collection tour around the world.

A special membership category - The Quilt Connection - with its own newsletter is available for members with a particular interest in textiles. Classes and lectures on the history of American quilts, and demonstrations and workshops that explore quiltmaking techniques are perennial favorites at the museum's educational branch, the Folk Art Institute.

The museum's commitment to both the past and present of American quilt-making has culminated this year with "An American Treasury: Quilts From The Museum of American Folk Art," on display through September 8. A book published by Penguin Studio details the complete collection.

In preparation for the book and exhibition, curators Elizabeth V. Warren and Sharon L. Eisenstat spent the past five years researching and cataloguing the museum's holdings. Unfortunately, the majority of the quilts owned by the museum are "orphans" - they entered the collection without any solid provenance.

Occasionally, there would be information relating where the quilt was found, and sometimes scraps of hearsay evidence or family folklore accompanied the quilts. Over the years, many of these tales have been retold so often that they have become accepted as gospel.

Where possible, it has been the curator's purpose to authenticate such stories or, as in most cases, to lay to rest the often romantic anecdotes that frequently become associated with works of folk art.

Where there have been enough clues to enable more historical genealogical research, this work has been carried out either by the curators, by members of the museum staff or by students in the Folk Art Institute.

When such information has not been available, the quilts themselves have been relied upon to provide some evidence as to when and where they were made. Clues such as overall design, fabrics, color, patterns, sewing techniques and quilting motifs have been evaluated to place the bedcovers within the overall framework of American quilt history and decorative arts.

The museum's collection has grown over the years, primarily through the kindness of donors. Occasionally, funds have been raised or grants received to purchase a significant and rare example or fill a gap in the collection, but, in general, quilts enter the collection through gifts. As it is a national institution, the museum does not restrict its collection by location, nor is it restricted by time period: the quilts included in this exhibition and catalogue were made all over the country and range in date from the late Eighteenth to the late Twentieth Century.

All of the major American quilt-making traditions are represented. This includes whole-cloth quilts, chintz quilts, signature and album quilts, appliqued quilts, pieced quilts, log cabin quilts, Victorian show quilts, Amish quilts, Colonial Revival quilts, African American quilts and contemporary art quilts.

Some of the quilts in the exhibition are new additions, on display for the first time. These include the "Tree of Life Whitework Quilt," an elaborately stuffed and corded bedcover dated 1796; "Sunflowers and Hearts Quilt," a colorful mid-Nineteenth Century appliqued quilt selected for the book's cover; and "Honeycomb Quilt Top," an early Nineteenth Century example of the "English" piecing technique. The "Kimono" hanging by Kumiko Sudo, a contemporary Japanese-American artist, demonstrates the worldwide appeal of quilt-making and the incorporation of international themes into a traditional American folk art.

The fully illustrated book, Glorious American Quilts: The Quilt Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art documents all the quilts in the museum's collection. Published by Penguin Studio, it contains 216 pages with 141 color plates and 44 black and white photographs. It costs $34.95 plus $5 postage and handling, and may be ordered through the Mail Order Department, Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop, 2 Lincoln Square, New York, N.Y. 10023.

The Museum of American Folk Art is at Columbus Avenue, between 65 and 66 Streets in New York. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 am to 7 pm, closed Monday. Telephone 212/595-9533.