wcw DEC 2021

PIECED & PATTERNED
American Quilts, c. 1800–1930
Through January 23, 2022 at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
his exhibition features more than
thirty extraordinary quilts whose
design, materials, and craft reflect
the complexity and richness of
American life from the brash first
decades of the republic through
the trauma of the Great Depression.
Pieced & Patterned is drawn from private
collections. It includes superb examples of this
quintessentially American art form, ranging
from early appliqued textiles to boldly graphic
bedcoverings of the early modern era.
With remarkable sensitivity to color,
pattern, and optical effects—combined with
needlework skills of sometimes amazing
dexterity—American women were able
to use a range of textiles to create works
of exceptional power and subtlety. Pieced
& Patterned explores how designs and
manufactured fabrics spread across the
United States affecting the evolution of
these textiles. In addition, the exhibition will
explore how these skillfully crafted textiles
commemorate not only personal and family
events, but major cultural movements and
strong political statements.
Pieced & Patterned presents a rare chance
to experience these fragile yet resilient textiles,
consummate pieces of art that were treasured and
handed down across generations. Their beauty
is matched only by their role as repositories for
memory and history—extraordinary testimonies
to the role of women in the political, social, and
cultural life of the United States.
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1
American, Pieced Quilt, c. 1850, Cotton with cotton
thread, Collection of Linda McCormick Felts
2
Mid-Atlantic States, American, Star of Bethlehem
Variant Quilt, c. 1840, Cotton and, pieced and
appliqued with wool-embroidered linen panels
inset; cotton binding, backing, and batting,
Collection of Linda McCormick Felts and William
C. Felts, Jr., Memphis, Tennessee
3
Mid-Atlantic States, American, Star of
Bethlehem Quilt, c. 1840, Cotton, pieced and
appliqued; cotton binding, backing, and batting,
Collection of Linda McCormick Felts and William
C. Felts, Jr., Memphis, Tennessee
4
American, Vases with Flowers Applique Quilt,
c. 1840, Cotton, On loan from the collection of
William and Norma Roth
5
American, Sampler Quilt, c. 1910, Cotton, On
loan from the collection of William and Norma
Roth
6
American, Crazy Quilt, c. 1890, Various
textiles, On loan from the collection of William
and Norma Roth
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg • 255 Beach Dr NE, St. Petersburg • (727) 896-2667 • https://mfastpete.org/exh/pieced-and-patterned/
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DECEMBER 2021 WEST COAST WOMAN 29