Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women

If you are a quilter, or quilt lover, RUN, don't walk to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) to see the current exhibit "Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women".  The exhibit continues through August 26; if you are in or plan to visit DC this summer, make sure to put this exhibit on your agenda.  The 50 quilts on display are part of a collection of 130 Amish quilts donated to the museum by Faith and Stephen Brown who started the collection in 1973.  

The Broken Star quilt above, circa 1930, is from Holmes County, Ohio by an unidentified maker.  The quilts in the collection are from Amish communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. The Amish are plain people whose religious beliefs bind them to communal groups. There are many sects, from the strictest Amish in their solid color clothing who eschew electricity and choose horse & buggy for transportation to Mennonites who blend in with the general population, and many levels in between.  The quilts in the collection were made between the 1880s and late 1940s.  The Amish adopted quilt making in the late 19th century, creating them as bed coverings; they were never intended to be viewed as art.  But their quilts combine the plain with the spectacular, and tradition with innovation.  It was a way that the women of the community could express individuality and showcase elaborate stitching as well as original designs and color choices.

The 2 quilts above are Tumbling Blocks, a pattern using 3 diamonds to create a hexagon, but as you can see here, color placement makes a huge difference!  The quilt on the left is by an unidentified maker from Holmes County Ohio, made about 1940-1950.  The quilt on the right is a Stairway to Heaven variation also from Ohio, made about 1935 by an unknown maker.

Bar quilts are common in Amish culture; the quilt on the right shows 9-patch blocks in the bars.  Both are from Lancaster County, PA by unknown makers, the left from about 1930, the right made about 1915.

This distinctive Lone Star quilt is from the Lapp family in Lancaster County, PA, made about 1935-45.  Even without formal training in color theory, careful color placement creates eye popping designs.  The border here is certainly unique and took careful planning of color placement in the 9-patch blocks.

Another unique quilt is this original design that at first glance resembles an Oriental carpet, but upon closer inspection, you'll find the 9-patch and Monkey Wrench blocks that create the pattern along with 8 pointed stars at the sashing intersections.  From Holmes County, Ohio by an unknown maker it was made about 1920 of cotton and silk. 

    

This 1920 Ocean Waves quilt is two-sided, with concentric rectangles on the back.  It is from Holmes County, Ohio, again an unidentified maker.

These two Center Diamond quilts are both from Lancaster County, PA.  The one on the left by Barbara Fisher about 1920, the other by an unknown maker about 1930.

A unique (to me) design is the 16-patch quilt, also known as Tartan.  It is from Mifflin County, PA, 1930, by an unknown maker.

Finally, this Trip Around the World quilt (for which I neglected to get the source information).  A one-patch quilt, the design is created though careful color placement.  

Now, you may think you've seen enough and don't need to visit the exhibit in person - BUT - this post included only 12 of the 50 quilts on exhibit!  And the impact is so much greater when seen in person. One thing is very clear to me for those of you who are quilters - document your quilt by putting a label on the back, so those who see your work in the future will know who made it, when, and where you lived at the time.  It is so important for those who will study these textiles in the future!  I hope you thoroughly enjoy this exhibit, and we would love to see your comments afterward.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Over the weekend Sue met some other members of her SAQA regional group at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC for a docent led tour.  SAQA stands for Studio Art Quilt Associates which is a national group that supports and promotes art quilts through exhibitions and education.  Though not focused on quilts, it was an in depth look at selected works in the museum.  Walking from the metro station to the museum, it was interesting to observe the architecture and how the new has grown up around the old.

The building on the far right is Madam Tussauds wax museum.

This sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein marks the corner of the museum property.  We found out from our docents that the museum building was originally the patent office, and also served as a hospital during the civil war.

We had a bit of extra time before the tour was to  begin, so took a quick look through the folk art gallery to see the quilts.  Perhaps quilts like these provide some of the roots of the modern quilt movement.

Top Left: Untitled (Octagons and Bars), 1930s-40s, wool, unidentified artist; improvisational quilts are an ongoing tradition in African American quilting.
Bottom Left: Untitled (Housetop Variation), 1920s, wool and cotton, unidentified artist
Top Right: Untitled (Strip Quilt with Suiting), 1930s, wool suiting, unidentified artist; African American origin.
Bottom Right: Untitled (String Quilt with Diamond Pattern), 1950s, cotton, unidentified artist
Notice that the first 3 made in the 20s-40s are darker colors and heavier fabrics such as wool, whereas the 4th made in the 50s is brighter cottons.  All are improvisational in design.

We also had to pause for pictures of the floor in the west wing of the museum - quilt designs are everywhere!

Moving on to the tour, we saw Snails Space with Vari-Lites, "Painting as Performance", 1995-96.  It is oil and acrylic on canvas by David Hockney. A 9 minute cycle of changing lights transforms the painting and a viewing bench provides the opportunity for contemplation.

Though not a planned piece on the tour, we fiber people couldn't resist stopping to look at this "Soundsuit" by Nick Cave (2009).  It is created entirely out of vintage doilies and other crocheted pieces.  The idea of the "soundsuit", as the docent explained, was to block out sound for the wearer, and in effect to be invisible.

Requiem for Charleston by Lava Thomas (2016) deserves some quiet reflection.  Made of tambourines with calligraphy on lambskin, it honors the 9 men and women who died in the 2015 shooting inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. 

"A Visit from the Old Mistress" was painted in 1876 by Winslow Homer.  During the Civil War, Homer was stationed with Union troops in Virginia to document events of the war.  Ten years after the war he made a return visit.  This tense scene illustrates the change in the relationship between the former mistress and now free black women having to negotiate for services she once was able to command.

"Cafe" was painted about 1939-40 by William H. Johnson, an African American painter who portrayed ordinary people in the black community.  This piece evokes the art that black artists and writers embraced during the Harlem Renaissance, as well as the fashionable zoot-suiters of the Big Band era.

While we saw only selected pieces during this visit, it was enough to whet the appetite for a return trip!