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Masterplece carved wooden horse weathervane from Winooski, Vermont. Circa 1870.

Fred & Kathryn Giampietro • 203-787-3851 • 1531/2 Bradley St., New Haven, CT 06511

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"Pig" Weathervane by L.W. Cushing. Last quarter of the 19th Century. Identical to the example in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collection. 36" in length.

17 East 96th Street, New York, New York 10128 (212) 348-5219 Hours: 2:00 PM. to 6:00 P.M. Tues. through Sat. & By Appointment

Exhibiting at The Great American Quilt Festival 3, New York City, May 1-5, 1991.

Quilts? Did someone say quilts?

(212)838-2596

Located at New York's Fabulous MANHATTAN ART l& ANTIQUES CENTER The Nation's Largest and Finest Antiques Center 104International Antique Furniture, Continental Silver,Galleries. Jewelry,Distinctive Exquisite Oriental & Other Objets d'Art. Convenient Parking. Brochure 1050 Second Avenue,bet. 55-56th Street, New Available. York, NY Tel: 212.355.4400.Open Mon.- Sat. 10:30-6,Sunday 12-6

Gallery #57

New York City's largest, most exciting selection of• Antique Quilts • Coverlets • Paisley Shawls • Beacon/Pendleton Blankets • Marseilles Spreads • Amish Buggy Shawls• Hooked Rugs• Vintage Decorative Accessories•American Folk Art

LAURA FISHER

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We are proud to announce our representation ofthe work of Victor Joseph Gatto (1890-1965) February 21- March 23 Opening reception Thursday, February 21, 6- 8 In collaboration with Epstein/Powell

Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 1lam - 6pm

105 HUDSON STREET/NEW YORK, N.Y. 10013/212-219-2756

"Red Africa," oil on canvas, 16" x 24"

AMERICAN ANTIQUES & QUILTS

"Log Cabin-Barn Raising" variation. Pennsylvania. Late nineteenth century 70 x 70 inches.

BLANCHE GREENSTEIN THOMAS K. WOODARD 835 Madison Avenue New York, N.Y. 10021 •(212) 988-2906 •

We are always interested in purchasing exceptional guilts. Photographs returned promptly. Telephone responses welcome

THE CLARION ErM. I AMERICA'S FOLK ARI MAGAZINE The Museum of American Folk Art New York City

Spring 1991

Volume 16, No. 1

FEATURES

Cathy Rasmussen

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GREAT AMERICAN QUILT FESTIVAL 3

Karla Friedlich

QUILTS OF CONSCIENCE Quilts Are Made for More Than Warmth

Paula Nadelstem

CMQUILTS

Quilting in an Urban Environment Martha Leversuch

A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO COVERLETS

A Review of the Basics DEPARTMENTS EDITOR'S COLUMN

MINIATURES

DIRECTOR'S LETTER

DEVELOPMENTS

MUSEUM NEWS

MAJOR DONORS

BOOK REVIEWS

NEW MEMBERSHIP

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

This Cover: Detail of Star of Bethlehem quilt: maker unknown; Lockport, NY area; silk; 96 x 96". permanent the for purchased and Project Quilt York New the through discovered was quilt vibrant collection of the Museum of American Folk Art with funds raised by the Raffle held during The Great American Quilt Festival 2. West 62nd Street, NY, NY 10023, 212/977-7170. Telecopier 212/977-8134. Annual The Clarion is normally published four times a year by the Museum of American Folk Art, 61 Single copy $4.50. Published and copyright C 1991 by the Museum of American Folk members. all to mailed are Copies dues. membership in subscription rate for members is included by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent. protected fully are Clarion The of contents and cover Art,61 West 62nd Street, NY,NY 10023. The manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. Unsolicited Art. Folk American of Museum the of those Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily send both old and new addresses and allow five weeks for change. please Address: of Change materials. such of damage The Clarion assumes no responsibility for the loss or the trade, but despite the care with which the advertising department screens Advertising: The Clarion accepts advertisements only from advertisers whose reputation is recognized in objects or quality of services advertised in its pages or offered for sale by its photographs and texts submitted by its advertisers, it cannot guarantee the unquestionable authenticity of ofobjects or services advertised in its pages. The Museum is dedicated to the sale or purchase the from arise may that misunderstandings for advertisers, nor can it accept responsibility to be involved in the sale of works of art. For this reason,the Museum will appear to or in involved be to principles its of violation a is it feels and art folk of exhibition and interpretation exhibited at the Museum within one year of the placing of the advertisement. been have that objects describe or illustrate which Clarion The for advertisements accept not knowingly 5 Spring 1991

Nineteenth-century oil on canvas in the style of Severin Rosen, circa 1850. Canvas stamped:"New York," original condition, 29/ 1 2x 24/ 1 2 canvas only.

CHERISHABLES MARILYN HANNIGAN

Specializing in 18th and 19th Century American Furniture and Decorative Arts

1608 20th Street, Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20009 (202) 785-4087

MARTHAJACKSON Specializing in 19th and Early 20th Century Quilts

New York State Album Quilt c. 1850, 77" X 76" Exhibiting in New York City: Wendy's Park Avenue at 67th Avenue Armory March 20-24, 1991 Main Street Cellar, 120 Main Street New Canaan,Connecticut 06840 (203)966-8348 Mon.-Sat. 10-5

Great American Quilt Festival Passenger Terminal Pier 92 May 1-5, 1991 By Appointment Riverside, Connecticut 06878 (203)637-2152

EDITOR'S COLUMN JACQUELINE M. ATKINS Quilts form a natural continuum, an unbreakable chain of fabric and ideas, between the traditional and the contemporary in folk art. The expanding diversity in design and technique,the kaleidoscopic input ofthose discovering a new and exciting world, whether as quilt artists or as collectors, has only served to strengthen the chain over the years. The ongoing appeal of this old, yet always new, art form is attested to by the many millions of people both in this country and abroad who are actively involved, one way or another, in quilting, and by the many thousands who annually flow through quilt festivals — local, regional, national, international — to drink in and be inspired by the richness ofthe ages as well as the latest innovations. This issue of THE CLARION touches on both the old and the new aspects of the quilting world and some of its many facets. Leading the way, in an article by Cathy Rasmussen, Director of The Great American Quilt Festival 3, is a look at the many exciting events and activities that will make up the colorful carousel of The Festival from May 1-5, 1991, at Pier 92 in New York City. Not least of the attractions will be an outstanding exhibition of the prizewinning quilts from the Museum's Discover America and Friends Sharing America contests. Two other very different Festival exhibitions are also featured in this issue. A photo essay based on the lively Citiquilts exhibit planned by Paula Nadelstem, quilt artist and author, gives a flavor of what quilters who live and work in a megalopolis are all about — and how their environment may shape their work. Karla Friedlich's commentary on Quilts ofConscience looks at the major roles that quilts have played, past and present, in giving visibility to urgent political and social issues. Moving away from quilts, but still in line with a textile theme, collector and researcher Martha Leversuch offers a review of the basics for those who want to enter the world of coverlet collecting. Her thoughtful approach provides an excellent grounding for novices as well as useful reminders for even the most experienced. On a more personal note, I am delighted to begin my editorship of THE CLARION with this exciting issue that focuses on some topics of particular interest to me. I am also looking forward to enhancing THE CLARION as a major forum for new ideas and groundbreaking research in the folk art arena as well as a platform for airing significant and sometimes controversial issues in the field. I want to encourage you,our readers,to continue to share with all of us your ideas, thoughts, and visions about folk art so that we may present the best that the field has to offer. 8

THE CLARION Jacqueline M. Atkins,Editor and Publisher Faye H. Eng, Anthony T. Yee,Art Directors Mell Cohen,Publications Associate Marilyn Brechner, Advertising Manager Hildegard 0. Vetter, Advertising Associate/Production Manager Craftsmen Litho,Printers Nassau Typographers, Typesetters

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART Administration Dr. Robert Bishop, Director Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director Luanne Cantor, Controller Beverly McCarthy, Assistant to the Director Mary Ziegler, Administrative Assistant Sylvia Sinckler, Shop Accountant Maryann Warakomski,Accountant Brent Erdy, Reception Luis Fernandez, Manager, Mailroom and Maintenance Collections & Exhibitions Elizabeth V. Warren, Curator Alice J. Hoffman,Director ofExhibitions Ann-Marie Reilly, Registrar Karen S. Schuster, Director ofthe Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Catherine Fulcushima, Assistant Gallery Director Stacy C. Hollander, Assistant Curator,Lore Kann Research Fellow Lucille Stiger, Assistant Registrar Regina A. Weichert, Assistant Gallery Director/Education Coordinator Mary Black, Consulting Curator Howard Lanser, Consulting Exhibition Designer Departments Beth Bergin, Membership Director Marie S. DiManno,Director ofMuseum Shops Susan Flamm,Public Relations Director Johleen D. Nester, Director ofDevelopment Edith C. Wise,Director ofLibrary Services Janey Fire, Karla Friedlich, Photographic Services Chris Cappiello, Membership Associate David E. Gluck,Development Associate Programs Barbara W. Cate, Director, Folk Art Institute Lee Kogan,Assistant Director, Folk Art Institute/Senior Research Fellow Phyllis A. Tepper,Registrar, Folk ArtInstitute Dr. Marilyn Karp,Director, New York University Master's and Ph.D.Program in Folk Art Studies Dr. Judith Reiter Weissman, Coordinator, New York University Program Cathy Rasmussen,Director ofSpecialProjects Irma J. Shore, Exhibition Coordinator, Access to Art® Eugene P. Sheehy,Museum Bibliographer Mary Linda Zonana, Coordinator, DocentPrograms Howard P. Fertig, Chairman, Friends Committee Museum Shop Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Caroline Hohenrath, Rita Pollitt; Mail Order: Vivian Adams, Volunteers: Carol Ann Amend, Marie Anderson,Laura Aswad, Judy Baker, Olive Bates, Marsha Becker, Jennifer Bigelow, Sheila Carlisle, Elizabeth Cassidy, Ann Coppinger, Sheila Coppinger, Sally Elfant, Annette Ellis, Tricia Ertman, Millie Gladstone, Elli Gordon,Inge Graff, Cyndi Gruber, Edith Gusoff, Carol Hauser, Elizabeth Howe, Bonnie Hunt, Carole Kaplan, Eleanor Katz, Nan Keenan, Annette Levande, Katie McAuliffe, Nancy Mayer, Sandra Miller. Theresa Naglack, Pat Fencer, Marie Peluso, Mary Rix, Diana Robertson, Frances Rojack, Phyllis Selnick, Lorraine Seubert, Myra Shaskan, Denise Siracusa, Maxine Spiegel, Doris Stack, Sonya Stem, Mary Wamsley, Marian Whitley, Doris Wolfson. Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shops 62 West 50th Street New York, NY 10012 212/247-5611 'No Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th) New York, NY 10023 212/496-2966 The Clarion

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I Juanita Tsosie, 82" h x 93" w, 1990:

NAVAJO PICTORIAL WEAVINGS

ALUIRY

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CENTERS IN THE COUNTRY FOR COLLECTOR-QUALITY AMERICAN INDIAN ART

IONc. SCOTTSDALE - 7045 Third Avenue - Arizona 85251 - 602 994-0405 SANTA FE - 225 Canyon Road - New Mexico 87501 • 505 983-9707 CAREFREE - 34505 N. Scottsdale Road,#33 • Arizona 85262 • 602 945-3385

KATE AND JOEL KOPP

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766 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, N.Y. 10021 • 212-535-1930

BALTIMORE ALBUM QUILT attributed to Mary Evans, c. 1849

THE BEST IN AMERICAN QUILTS 10

Photo: Kevin Clark

AMERICAN • PRIMITIVE GALLERY •

Life-size tin Star Man,tin dog,and dancing girl with ball.

Monday-Friday 10-6 Saturday 12-6

Aarne Anton 212.966.1530

596 Broadway, suite 205, New York, NY 10012

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AMISH QUILTS DAVID WHEATCROFT LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA TEL: 717-523-6687 12

Roger Rice, The Butcher, the Baker, oil on canvas, 41 1/2 x 46 inches, 1990. We are pleased to present for the first time the work of this exceptionally talented, young African-American visionary artist.

Robert Cargo

FOLK ART GALLERY Southern, Folk, and African-American Quilts Antiquesâ&#x20AC;˘Folk Art Open weekends only and by appointment

2314 Sixth Street, downtown Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401

205/758-8884 Home phone

Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday 1:00-5:00

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MINIATURES NEWS AND EVENTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

EARlit' Smoke Signals: Cigarettes, Advertising and the American Way of Life will run through September 8, 1991, at the Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA. Smoke Signals examines how changes in technology and marketing have dramatically influenced American life since the 1880s. Assembled is a diverse array of over 425 objects plus vintage television and radio commercials illustrating how advertising spurred the rapid transformation of American culture. ... Also at the Museum of Our National Heritage, through April 21, 1991, The Confectioner's Art, an exhibition of more than 200 culinary fantasies, introduces some of the pre-eminent confectioners of our time and explores the cultural significance of sweets through the ages. A lavishly illustrated 88-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition. For inquiries Tel. 617/861-6559 or 617/861-0729.

104 Palm Advertisementfor Smoke Signals exhibition.

Sugar skullsfor the Mexican commemoration ofthe Day ofthe Dead.

The twelfth annual seminar of the American Quilt Study Group will be held October 11 thru 13, 1991, at St. Francis Center, Cincinnati, OH. Proposals for 30-minute papers representing original research pertaining to the history of quilts, textiles, quiltmakers, and related topics are invited. Abstracts must be postmarked no later than April 30, 1991. For additional information call Sarah Howard, Executive Director, Tel. 415/495-0163.

eektk Althltd 6448u4te Itioststo 4gstititte The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in WinstonSalem, NC, together with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro will sponsor Early Southern History and Decorative Arts, the sixteenth annual graduate Summer Institute, from June 23 through July 19,

1991. Emphasis this year will be on the material culture of the Chesapeake Region. Students, teachers, and museum professionals with an interest in material culture, history, American art, or museum studies are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is April 20,

1991. For further information and application forms, call Sally Gant, Director of Education, 919/721-7360.

Pooject

Capture the special times of your life in a quilt pattern, design, or style and submit it to Times of Our Lives quilt contest, sponsored by the Eastcoast Quihers Alliance. Selected entries will be exhibited at a Quilters' Gathering in Westford, MA, November 1, 2, and 3, 1991, and prizes will be awarded. Entry deadline date, September 1, 1991. For information and entry forms Tel. 508/692-2857. 14

The Association for Gravestone Studies will hold its annual conference at Northfield Mt. Hermon School in Northfield, MA on June 27-30, 1991. Through scholarly lectures, guided cemetery tours, workshops, and exhibits, the conference program is designed to inform those in the fields of folklore, genealogy, history, and archaeology of the many ways to preserve the nation's burying grounds. Pre-registra-

tion is required. For information Tel. 617-455-8180.

The American Craft Museum announces a decade-long project to write the first history of twentieth-century American craft through symposia, exhibitions, and catalogues by the year 2000. This project is an outgrowth of the American Craft Museum's symposium, "A Neglected History: 20th Century American Craft: held in November 1990. The second symposium 1919-1929 The Undiscovered Decade will be held May 1991. Tickets and further information may be obtained by contacting Linda Craighead, Centenary Coordinator, Tel. 212/956-3535. The Clarion

Shiprock Pictorial Rug with a Bi-plane, an Owl, Two Horses and Two Riders, Navajo, circa 1930. 36 by 48 inches. All reproduction rights reserved by Joshua Baer & Company.

JOSHUA BAER & COMPANY ClassicAmerican Indian Art 116/ 1 4 EAST PALACE AVENUE

SANTA FE

NEW MEXICO 87501

505 988 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 8944

Spring 1991

MINIATURES

pe Aultuteta 19V-1991 Felipe Benito Archuleta, noted New Mexican woodcarver, died in his sleep January 1, 1991, at his Tesuque, New Mexico, home following a lengthy illness. According to Christine Mather,former curator of Spanish Colonial Art at the Museum of New Mexico,in Santa Fe,the artist was afflicted with a malignant brain tumor. A giant among contemporary American folk woodcarvers, Archuleta is an important link between the sacred santero tradition and a contemporary secular art form. He has inspired a group of New Mexican wood carvers. Animals, Archuleta's favored subjects, were often fierce and

ego folk fest Approximately one hundred craft persons will demonstrate eighteenth- and nineteenth-century skills on Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, 1991, rain or shine. The Mercer Museum Folk Fest will be located under large tents and spreading trees and in booths on the museum grounds in the center of Doylestown, PA. There will be continuous entertainment of folk music, dancing, and jugglers, hands-on craft projects for children, and traditional picnic foods available throughout both days. The Mercer Museum, owned and operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, will be open free of charge to Folk Fest visitors. For further information call Jane Acton, Tel. 215/345-0210.

Archuleta shown with Bear with a Fish in His Mouth, currently in The Cutting Edge exhibition.

snarling and always whimsical. He drew inspiration for the hundreds of carvings that he produced from magazine sources such as NationalGeographic. Archuleta's fame came in the 1970s after an exhibition of his work at the Museum ofInternational Folk Art in Santa Fe. His works are now in the collections ofthe Smithsonian Institution in

Washington,D.C.,the De Menil Collection in Houston,The Museum ofInternational Folk Artin Santa Fe, and the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City. Archuleta is survived by his wife, Isabel Herrera, six children, grandchildren, and two sisters.

quiltmakers, this is the first educational seminar of its kind in the United States devoted to teaching quiltmaking as an art form. Contact Linda Fowler for additional information, Tel. 614/297-1585.

The DAR Museum continues its popular quilt workshops on the first Thursday of every month. During the workshop twentyfive quilts from the Museum's collection of early American textiles will be shown and discussed. The American Textile Identification Clinics also continue on the last Wednesday of each month. Curators give the date and possible origin as well as advice on the care of quilts, coverlets, needlework, lace, and costumes. Reservations are required. Please call Tel. 202/879-3241.

A scene at the Festival ofAmerican Folklife.

of the crisis facing rural communities;Indonesia, a program offering a sampling of the artistic traditions of the nation; and Native Americans, part of the Columbus Quincentenary prograin. The Festival is co-sponsored by the Smithsonian and the National Park Service. For information, call 202/357-2700.

glitOtokee Desieps ysstposiussi The Second Annual Quilt/ Surface Design Symposium will be held June 16-22 and June 23-29, 1991, on the campus of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH. Organized in 1990 by two Ohio

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The newly renovated DAR Museum gallery will now feature quilts and coverlets along with changing exhibitions and the permanent collections of ceramics, silver, and glass. New sliding racks for the display of quilts and coverlets and backlit cases for whitework will enable the Museum to exhibit larger quantities of its permanent textile collection under more protective conditions. The DAR Museum's textile collection is one of the most important collections of early American textiles in the United States.

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011448 ref1WM The Smithsonian Institution's 25th Annual Festival of American Folklife will be held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., June 26-30 and July 3-7, 1991. The Festival will have four main programs: The 25th Anniversary Music Stage, a musical celebration; Family farm, an examination

The Clarion

Flag quilt with stars in reverse position Illinois ca. 1914

Fine antique quilts, hooked rugs, primitive and folk art, American paintings.

LUDY STRAUSF

THE QUILT GALLERY

1611 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90403 â&#x20AC;˘ 213-393-1148 17

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PORTRAITS Painted in this Style!

Done in about an Hour's Sitting. Price, $2,92, including Frame, Glass, &e. I Please call at -

' WM. M. PRIOR.

Folk Art At Christie's We are now accepting consignments for our Folk

Art Sale in October 1991. For auction and consignment information regarding forthcoming sales, please contactJohn Hays or Meghan Hughes at 212/546-1181, Folk Art Department, Christie's, 502 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Otis Swett, one ofa pair of portraits, bearing the above label sold at Christie's, New York on January 26, 1991.

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KELTER-MALCE

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S 361 Bleecker St / New York City 10014/ 212-989-6760

Cast paper,jointed marionettefigure of African spear carrier. Made by Ohio missionaries. Circa 1930. Mint condition.

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Rare examples from an extraordinary collection of 19th ury Monday through Saturday, 12 to

390 BLEECKER STREET•NEW YORK, NY 10014•[212]645-502

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J.E. PORCELLI AMERICAN FOLK ART and AMERICANA 12702 Lard-mere Boulevard (2nd floor) Cleveland, Ohio 44120 216/932-9087 or 231-2121 Tuesday-Saturday 11-5 or Appointment

THE TARTT GALLERY

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Butch Quinn, Mr Dotto Roboto, 1985, assemblage, 36 x 21 x 15"

Continuous Inventory Includes Leroy Almon, Z.B. Armstrong, Gene Beecher, Georgia Blizzard, Alexander Bogardy, Buzz Busby, Raymond Coins, Howard Finster, Caroline Goe, Ralph Griffin, Joe Hardin, Lonnie Holley, James Harold Jennings, Pappy Kitchens, Justin McCarthy, R.A. Miller, B.E Perkins, Butch Quinn, Charles Rabin, Marcus J. Staples, Jr., Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver

2017 QUE STREET NW

WASHINGTON, D. C.

202-332-5652

Thomas C. Queen American Antiques

An exceptional New Lebanon, NY Shaker rocker, circa 1890. A fine cow weathervane by Cushing, circa 1875, and a Federal card table from New Hampshire, circa 1810.

Now at Beck-Mohawk Gallery, 177 E. Beck Street, Columbus,OH 43206 (614)621-1118 or 444-3796 in Historic German Village.

LESLIE GALLERY

MUTH Contemporary American Folk Art Specializing in folk artists from the southwest Johnny W. Banks

Patrick Davis

Uncle Pete Drgac

Ezekiel Gibbs

Ike Morgan

Naomi Polk Rev. Johnnie Swearingen

1114 Barkdull Houston Texas 77006 (713)521-2639 and 690 Gonzales #11 Santa Fe New Mexico 87501 (505)986-1326 Ike E. Morgan

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Notable Examples from the Collection of the Late Edward Deming Andrews and Faith Andrews

The definitive Shaker blanket chest. . . was made by Brother Gilbert Avery(1775-1853) of the Upper Canaan Family, Canaan, New York, in 1837. It is one of the most famous pieces from the Andrews collection, and has been a key document in the study of Shaker furniture for over sixty years. Made of white pine with original red paint, rare bone escutcheons and original threaded maple knobs, it is inscribed in ink on the back: Made April 1837 Canaan. 27 x 41 x 18 inches. FULL COLOR CATALOGUE AVAILABLE: "Notable Examples from the Andrews Collection," illustrates and describes some of the rarest and most important examples of Shaker furniture. Available by mail for $15.00, postage paid. (New York residents are required to add appropriate sales tax).

DAVID A. ScHoust7H fneolitaitatea/ 24

30 EAST 76TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10021 212-439-6100

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR DR ROBERT BISHOP

One of the great pleasures of having lived in the art world for so many years has been the extraordinary opportunity that I have had to meet the wonderful artists who create folk art. Each artist is inspired by their different life experience, and each brings to their art a singular point of view. Each creates with a personal style and each continues, in one way or another, the folk traditions of the past. I remember well when Herbert Hemphill and I first visited Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, in Summerville, Georgia, at the time of the "Missing Pieces" exhibition mounted by the Atlanta Historical Society in 1977. We were both struck speechless by the odd and yet remarkable threeacre environment created by this former preacher. When Gray Boone, Publisher of Horizon Magazine, took me to visit Jimmy Lee Sudduth, of Fayette, Alabama, and Mose Tolliver, from Montgomery, Alabama,in the spring of 1974, I became aware for the first time of the strength and power of the southern black artistic vision that only today is finally receiving broad acceptance. Certainly my recent trip in the company of William and Paul Arnett to visit Thornton Dial, Sr. and his extended family of artists in Bessemer, Alabama, and last year's visit to Lonnie Holley in Birmingham, Alabama, were benchmarks in my growing interest in and respect for this vigorous arena in folk art. Mattie Lou O'Kelley, of Maysville, Georgia, Kathy Jakobsen, formerly of Dearborn, Michigan, and Malcah Zeldis, of New York City, have also become lasting friends as well as artistic compatriots whose work graces the Museum's collection. Several years ago Barbara and Ed Braman gave the Museum a number of pieces of twentiethcentury folk art, and included among the many treasures was the beautiful painting, "Planting The River Bed:' by Mattie Lou O'Kelley. Just last year the Spring 1991

Selfportrait of Mattie Lou O'Kelley; Maysville, 2"; gift of 1 Georgia; Oil on canvas;1978;44 x 31/ the artist.

"Planting The Riverbed";Mattie Lou O'Kelley; 2 x 38"; gift of Mr. & 1 Oil on canvas, 1976; 24/ Mrs. Edwin Braman.

Sweet Potato Grater; Augustus Franklin O'Kelley; Maysville, Georgia; circa 1900. His daughter, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, wrote recently â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "Myfather dearly loved sweetpotato pudding,so he made this large grater on which he himself grated the sweet potatoesfor my mother to make the pudding. He died in 1930, as well as!recall, at the age of72, so the grater was nothing new:'

artist herself presented the Museum with a self-portrait that she had completed in 1978. On a recent trip to visit Mattie Lou at her present home in Decatur, Georgia, she spoke about a sweet potato grater that had been made by her father, Augustus Franklin O'Kelley (18561930), and used on his farm in Maysville during her childhood. After rummaging through a closet for several minutes she returned with the grater

and reminisced about the wonderful sweet potato pudding her mother used to make. I asked ifshe would be willing to share her mother's recipe with our Museum family through The Clarion. She readily agreed â&#x20AC;&#x201D; provided she could test the recipe again, herself, before she gave it to us. A lengthy correspondence followed, and, although we are still eagerly awaiting that recipe, other good things surfaced, as this excerpt from one letter shows: 25

Ern

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

I went to the grocery store the other day but did not see any new sweet potatoes yet on the market. I will check again. I guess the season is a little early for them yet and anyway the potatoes should be a bit seasoned out. However, I did get some fresh corn and tried my hand at cooking some fried corn. The corn on the grocery markets is known as sweet corn, and it is not like the old time that my father used to grow in his fields for corn meal and horse food. The corn then was about a foot length for an ear with large grains. You want the corn when the grains are about fully developed but not beginning to wrinkle or show signs of drying. You shuck the corn, pull off all the silks on the ear, then you get a large pan or bowl and set it in the sink, as the corn spatters when you cut the grains off. Then with a sharp knife and holding the

stalk end in your hand, the left one, you slide the knife slightly under the top or outer skin of the corn and slide the knife down the corn ear to the tip, and so on all around the corn ear, then you go around again,taking off another layer. Then you take the knife, scrape the cob, getting all the thick juicy starch out to thicken the corn. In the meantime, you have a skillet or pan with some butter or margarine in it heating on the stove. You add a little water to your corn, and pour this corn mixture into the skillet and keep your corn stirred as it needs some stirring and let this cook, you add salt to taste. If the corn seems thin, pour a little water or sweet milk into a cup, add some flour and stir till smooth and pour into the corn mixture. When I get some more corn I will give you better measurements. I had five ears of corn, medium size, and I had about two cups of pulp when I got the corn

shaved off the cobs. I added about two cups of water, which was too much, and about three tablespoons heaping of margarine, which was a bit much, so then I added some flour to a bit of water to try and thicken my corn. Anyway,this is the method to use but my measurements are a bit haphazard. Anyway, just thought I'd give you the idea. This is the way to cook good corn. It is especially good with cream gravy and fried chicken. I have had several home-cooked meals with Mattie Lou O'Kelley, and my favorite is her boiled ham with cornmeal. What a great way to begin a long and leisurely evening, larded with her many recollections of family life in the rural south. Knowing folk artists has indeed been a most rewarding experience!

THE

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STELLA

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Exhibiting at The Great American Quilt Festival III, New York City, May I-5.

ANTON HAARDT GALLERY David Butler Thornton Dial Sam Doyle Minnie Evans Howard Finster Lonnie Holly Clementine Hunter Calvin Livingston R. A. Miller 13. F. Perkins Royal Robertson Juanita Rogers Mary T. Smith Henry Speller Jimmy Lee Sudduth Son Thomas Mose Tolliver Inez Walker Cap, Juanita Rogers, 13-1/2 x 20

1220 SOUTH HULL STREET • MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104 • (205) 263-5494 Spring 1991

DEVELOPMENTS JOHLEEN D.NESTER

The Museum will continue its wellestablished tradition of organizing quilt exhibitions and educational programs of the highest quality with the presentation of The Great American Quilt Festival 3 from May 1-5 1991, at the New York City Exhibition Pier. Because The Great American Quilt Festival 3 has been expanded to include four international quilt contests (Discover America, Friends Sharing America, Young People's America, and America's Flower Garden) and several exhibitions, the need for corporate sponsorship support increased greatly this year. In response to this need, several companies generously agreed to provide financial and in-kind support for specific contests and Festival presentations. America's Flower Garden The America's Flower Garden contest and exhibition is being sponsored by Northern, the Quilted Bathroom Tissue, a product of James River Corporation. Three of the prize-winning quilts from the contest will be exhibited in the Northern booth at the Festival, and all of the quilts will be presented as the summer exhibition at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square from June 20 through September 20, 1991. In addition to providing sponsorship support, Northern placed a full-page color advertisement in the July 1990 issue of Better Homes and Gardens inviting quilters to enter the contest. One of the prize-winning quilts will also be featured in the July 1991 issue of the magazine. Paul Bova, Vice President and General Manager of James River Corporation's Consumer Towel and Tissue Business, summarized the reason for the company's support as follows:"We commend the great work and efforts of the Museum in keeping American folk art alive and enjoyed by many. I hope that Northern's sponsorship and support of the Museum's 'America's Flower Garden' quilt contest will provide added exposure to the art of quilting. Quilting is part of the Ameri28

can heritage and is the inspiration in developing our unique, Northern Brand premium quality tissue:' Northern's sponsorship of the America's Flower Garden contest and exhibition marks the first time the Museum has received support from James River Corporation and I look forward to reporting the progress and success of this corporate/arts partnership. Discover America The Discover America contest and exhibition is made possible with the support of two corporations that were co-sponsors of the 1989 Memories of Childhood contest at The Great American Quilt Festival 2: Fairfield Processing Corporation and Springs Industries, Inc. These companies, joining together once again as co-sponsors, have agreed to support The Great American Quilt Festival 3. Both manufacture products specifically related to quilting, so acknowledgment of their support will read "Discover America is made possible with the generous support of Fairfield Processing Corporation/Poly-file and SpringmaidÂŽ Fabrics!' All of the prize-winning quilts from the Discover America contest will be exhibited at the Festival and will then travel to museums across the United States. Tracey Kozar Inskeep of Springs Industries, Inc. describes the company's support as follows:"For the past few years, Springmaid Fabrics, a division of Springs Industries, Inc., has been enthusiastically involved with the Museum of American Folk Art's Quilt Festival. The reason for this is that some of our lines are ideally suited for quilting, which is a tremendously fastgrowing industry. Our Springmaid 100% cotton prints receive a great deal of exposure since we have found the Quilt Festival to be extremely wellattended by quilters from all over the country." In addition, Fairfield Processing Corporation will sponsor the twelfth â&#x20AC;˘ anniversary presentation of the company's fashion show entitled "Dia-

monds are a Girl's Best Friend" during the Festival. The generous renewed sponsorship support of these two corporations indicates their commitment to the Museum and their interest in furthering the public's understanding and appreciation of the art of quilting. In-kind Donations As reported in the Winter issue of The Clarion, many donors contribute inkind gifts to the Museum in support of general operations and specific projects. Several companies are supporting The Great American Quilt Festival 3 in this manner. Country Living magazine has once again agreed to design and print the brochure that describes all of the activities at the Festival. Based upon past attendance figures, over 30,000 brochures will be printed and distributed to every visitor to the Festival. The first day of the Festival will be "Country Living Magazine Day"in recognition of contributions to the educational programs that will be presented. Country Living editors and staff will greet visitors and present lectures on collecting and decorating with quilts. Other in-kind gifts include beverages from Classic Coffee Systems Ltd., baked goods from Entenmaim's and Great Performances Caterers, airfare for prize-winners in the Discover America and Young People's America contests from USAir and British Airways, and objects to be offered in a special raffle from Shelly Zegart, Lane Company, Inc., and Bernina of America, Inc. This broad range of support has allowed the Museum to organize the quilt contests and exhibitions successfully for presentation at The Great American Quilt Festival 3. I encourage you to visit the Festival, to view the prize-winning quilts from the America's Flower Garden contest at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square this summer, and to think of the many generous donors who made this event possible. The Clarion

Shelly Zegart Quilts, etc. •Fine quilts bought and sold • Lectures • Exhibits • Appraisals 12-Z River Hill Road Louisville, KY 40207

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PORTRAITS OF FOLK ARTISTS BY GUY MENDES David Butler, St. Eom, Rev. Howard Finster Mary T. Smith, Mose Tolliver and others

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SR. GERTRUDE MORGAN photographed by GUY MENDES, 1974

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MUSEUM NEWS

JAPANESE FOLK ART PAINEWEBBER ART GALLERY On October 11, 1990, the Museum celebrated the opening of"The World ofTaiji Harada: Folk Art and Life in Japan" at the PaineWebber Art Gallery. More than 500 Museum members and friends attended the reception hosted by Paine Webber Group Inc. and had an opportunity to meet Taiji Harada, one of Japan's most beloved and well-respected naive painters. The exhibition, which included paintings by Taiji Harada and the folk art objects depicted in his works, was on view through January 4. The richly detailed paintings of Taiji Harada capture the beauty of rural Japan and the traditional folk culture that is preserved through the creation and use of mingei by the Japanese people. Mingei, a combination ofthe Japanese words min (people)and gei(art), translates to mean arts of the people. These arts include objects that are made specifically for utilitarian purposes, with beauty and simplicity, as well as pieces created purely for ceremonial intents. Mingei, which are traditionally the work ofanonymous craftsmen, take shape in many forms and materials such as basketry, woven and dyed fabrics, papier mache, furniture, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, metalwork, paperrnaking, and lacquerware. Localism is also an important characteristic of Japanese fa( arts; each prefecture in Japan maintains, even today, its own traditional local objects. Because Taiji Harada was born in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, all of the mingei in the exhibition were from this area in Japan. Utilitarian objects such as chochin (paper lanterns), geta (wooden clogs), and yotsude-ami (fishing nets) are captured in the paintings by Taiji Harada entitled Autumn Festival, Evening by the Stream, and Sunset at Lake Suwa. Festival objects including lcoi-nobori(flying carp pennants for Boys' Festival), nagashi-bina (Doll's Festival dolls), and shishigashira (lion-faced masks) continue to be created for use during specific celebrations throughout the year and are recorded by Taiji Harada in paintings such as May Breeze, Nagashibina

(Sending out Hina Dolls) and Lion Dance. The combination of presenting detailed paintings that record the daily life of Japan along with the actual folk arts depicted in the works provided visitors to the exhibition with a unique introduction and insight into a very special way of traditional life. The exhibition was organized by the Museum and Asahi Shimbun,sponsored by Paine Webber Group Inc. and supported by Chinon Industries Inc. and Japan Air Lines.

Clockwise from upper left, Mr. Hiroshi Chino, President, Chinon Industries Inc., Mr. Masamichi Hanabusa, Consul General ofJapan, Mr. Taiji Harada; Japanese visitors at opening reception; Mr. Kazuo Yoshida, Vice Chairman, Founding Committee ofTobu Art Museum.

From left, Miss Mimuro Harada;Miss Auk째Hama,Hokodo Design Studio;Mr.and Mrs.TaijiHarada with Suzanne Gyorgy, Director, PaineWebber Art Gallery, and Dr. Robert Bishop.

The Clarion

12SSOIN 211M2H :SO)Olid

COMPILED BY MELL COHEN

MAIN STREET ANTIQUES and ART Colleen and Louis Picek Folk Art and Country Americana (319) 643-2065 110 West Main, Box 340 West Branch, Iowa 52358 On Interstate 80 A Victorian applique quilt and a rooster windmill weight Send a self-addressed stamped envelope for our monthly Folk-Art and Americana price list

EPSTEIN/POWELL 22 Wooster St., New York, N.Y. 10013 By Appointment(212)226-7316 Jesse Aaron Rifka Angel David Butler William Dawson Charlie Dieter Mr. Eddy Antonio Esteves Howard Finster Victor Joseph Gatto(Estate) S.L. Jones Lawrence Lebduska Justin McCarthy Emma Lee Moss Inez Nathaniel Joe Polinski Old Ironsides Pry Nellie Mae Rowe Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver Floretta Warfel George Williams Luster Willis and others Spring 1991

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ANN JACOB AMERICA ART, ANTIQUES, FOLK ART, QUILTS

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U1s1

MUSEUM NEWS

DECEMBER GALLERY OPENING Seven hundred Museum members and invited guests attended the lively opening reception at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square for the exhibition The Cutting Edge: Contemporary American Folk Art. Barbara Cate, exhibition curator and Director of the Museum's Folk Art Institute, introduced the distinguished collectors Chuck and Jan Rosenak, from Tesuque, New Mexico. From among their extensive collection, the Rosenaks assembled a group of 86 American folk art objects created by rural and urban artists from widely different ethnic and cultural backgrounds; the exhibition is as diverse as America itself. Gregorio Marzan and Malcah Zeldis, two of the artists exhibited, were on hand to meet and greet the many enthusiastic guests. The exhibit will remain on view until March 10, 1991, then the show will travel to five cities. The new publication, Museum ofAmerican Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists, by Chuck and Jan Rosenak,published by Abbeville Press, accompanies the show. This exhibition was made possible with a generous grant from Country Home Magazine. Also on view were fancifully decorated and elegant eighteenth- and nineteenth-century family records in the exhibition Painters of Record: William Murray and His School. Arthur and Sybil Kern, guest curators and folk art researchers, selected 36 illuminated manuscripts in watercolor and ink on paper to document the development of the family

MUSEUM'S TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

Mark your calendars for the following Museum of American Folk Art exhibitions when they travel to your area during the coming months:

Artist, Gregorio Marzan with Jan Rosenak.

March 4, 1991-May 9, 1991 Access to Art: Bringing Folk Art Closer Conner Prairie Noblesville, Indiana 317/776-6000 April 1, 1991-May 27, 1991 The Cutting Edge: Contemporary American Folk Art The New Britain Museum of American Art New Britain, Connecticut 203/229-0257 April 1, 1991-May 27,1991 Painters of Record: William Murray and His School Albany Institute of History and Art Albany, New York 518/463-4478 Chuck Rosenak and Barbara Cate.

record as a distinctive form of folk art. The exhibition, made possible through the generosity ofthe Amicus Foundation and the Cowles Charitable Trust to the Museum of American Folk Art Exhibition Rind, will remain on view until March 3, 1991, then travel to the Albany Institute of History and Art April 1—May 27, 1991.

EXPANDABLE COMPUTER SYSTEM After years of research into the various available Collection Management software, we have selected the Star® system, designed by Cuadra Associates. We now have a three-user system (expandable to more users) that will enable us to maintain our museum records with greater accuracy and consistancy. The Star® system will facilitate our ability to ac-

February 7, 1991-April 4, 1991 Memories of Childhood: The Great American Quilt Festival 2 Jackson County Historical Museum Maquoketa, Iowa 319/652-5020

cess information about the Museum's diverse collections for purposes of exhibition, publication, and reproduction. The Curatorial and Registration Departments are thrilled with this innovative system, and we are still exploring the various possibilities offered by the Star® system. Star® is a registered trademark of Cuadra Associates.

April 8, 1991-June 3, 1991 Beneath The Ice: The Art of the Fish Decoy St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation Clayton, Missouri 314/889-2863 April 25, 1991-June 20, 1991 Memories of Childhood: The Great American Quilt Festival 2 The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Whitehall Mansion Palm Beach, Florida 407/655-2833 June 22, 1990-June 27, 1992 Double Wedding Ring Quilts American Adventure Pavilion Epcot Center Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida 407/824-4321

For further information contact Alice J. Hoffman, Director of Exhibitions, Museum of American Folk Art, Administrative Offices, 61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023, Tel. 212/977-7170.

The Clarion

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WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 24th ANNUAL ANTIQUES SHOW

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MARCH 16 & 17,1991

LATIN AMERICAN & HAITIAN FOLK ART

SATURDAY 10 to 5 — SUNDAY 11 to 5 Admission $5.00— with card/ad $4.50 EARLY BUYING AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Saturday 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. Admission $25.00

Wilton High School Field House Route 7, Wilton, CT

. ... t..

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101 EXHIBITORS This distinguished and comprehensive event features American country (including Shaker) and period formal furniture of the 18th and 19th centuries shown by some of America's finest dealers. In addition, it offers appropriate period decorative accessories, with an emphasis on fine ceramics, textiles, fine art, a strong representation of folk art: also, prints, rare maps, early glass, silver of the American Arts & Crafts Movement,jewelry and architectural elements. One of the most highly regarded shows in New England, it offers quality and variety at a range of prices. It has been planned to appeal to both the advanced collector and to novices in the field and is extremely popular with dealers. It is easy to reach and offers ample parking and food service. For additional information about the show or overnight accommodations, call the museum. MANAGED BY MARILYN GOULD

5 16 mi. north of Exit 40, Merritt Parkway 8 mi. north of Exit 15,1-95 12 mi. south of 1-84

Wilton Historical Society 249 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 (203) 762-7257

Spring 1991

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Folk Altar. Antonio Villafarie. Mexico.

THE DIVINE IMAGE Folk Art of the Season Thursday, March 7-Saturday, April 27 ANNUAL SALE 15%-40% Off Everything Tuesday, April 2-Saturday April 27 131 SPRING ST A NEW YORK, NY 10012 A (212)431-0144

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST June 1991 American Country 'Rouses

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Antiques Feature: China Cabinet, made by Columbus Hallman in Mars Hill, North Carolina, 190071905. Quartered oak, with chipped-carved laurel root applications;61" x 38" x 10". Ralph Kylloe Antiques, Londonderry, New Hampshire. For subscription information call: 1-800-234-4378

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MUSEUM NEWS

Hundreds of people lined up at Pier 92 on Wednesday, October 17, 1990, in anticipation of the opening night of the 12th Fall Antiques Show. The benefit preview, which saluted Jean and Howard Lipman and the Museum's major fall exhibition, Five-Star Folk Art, raised over one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The focus of the evening was to honor several generations of major collectors who have, by their pioneering collections, been the mainstay of American folk art. Festivities were enhanced by an open bar, and Bill Halfacre and his Dixieland band provided a rousing welcome to put everyone into the proper spirit. The benefit was catered by David ZiffCooking,Inc., and

the flowers were provided by The Flowers Service Store, Ltd. A special thanks to Sanford Smith, producer ofthe Fall Antiques Show and his staff, and to Jean and Howard Lipman, Honorary Chairpeople, Lucy and Mike Danziger, Chairpeople, and Co-Chairpeople Cynthia V.A. Schaffner and Karen Schuster. The show itself gets better every year, and three new dealers were added this year: America Hurrah, Peter Tillou, and David A. Schorsch Inc.

LOUIS C. JONES 1908-1990

ORPHAN COLLECTION

Louis C. Jones, prominent humanist, educator,scholar and historian of American culture died of a stroke November 25,1990 in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Dr. Jones, Director of the New York State Historical Association and the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York, from 1947 until his retirement in 1972, established the Seminars in American Culture (1948) and the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Training and American Folk Culture (1964). The important folk art collection housed at Fenimore House, the Historical Association's museum headquarters was developed through Dr. Jones' efforts.

Louis C. Jones

Above: Susan and Jerry Lauren, Mary Emmerling, Doug Bihlmaier, and Mary Foley. Below:Phoebe and Lily Cates.

Dr. Jones first became interested in folk art in 1948 when noted art dealer Mary Allis and important collector/ writer Nina Fletcher Little participated in the first Seminar in American Culture. Jones understood that folk art was a "bridge to unite the program of the Farmer's Museum and the New York State Historical Association;' according to Dan Porter, current Director of the Association. Jones was the author of several articles and books on tall tales, witchcraft, ghostlore, folk songs, and American folk art. He wrote American Folk Art with Marshall Davidson (1952), New Found Folk Art of the Young Republic with Agnes Halsey Jones (1960), and Three Eyes on the Past(1982). In discussing current problems related to the definition of folk art and a longstanding consensus of curators, dealers, researchers, and collectors that grouped together disparate objects from handicrafts to the factory-made to portraits and calling it all folk art, Jones commented "it's too late to change:' Jones is survived by his wife, Agnes; two sons, Peter and David;one daughter, Carol Loomis; and five grandchildren.

In our continuing effort to find appropriate homes for some of our "orphan" objects,the Museum has transferred two deaccessioned collections to the permanent collection of the New York State Museum in Albany. Included are weathervane materials (dies, templates, and tools), all originally from the Fiske Company and contributed to our Museum by Joseph Fiske, and a Coney Island Shooting Gallery donated by Guernsey's. The Museum in Albany was delighted to receive these important gifts.

CORRECTION Because of an oversight in the Fall 1990 (Vol. 15, No. 4) issue of The Clarion, background information and a photograph of the Maxwell and Stets' wooden flag gate (right-hand photo) provided by Sandi Lynne for the "American Flag Gates" article (p.76) were not acknowledged. We truly apologize for this omission, and we are grateful to Sandi Lynne for furnishing us with this interesting material.

The Clarion

Photos: Sandford L. Smith & Associ

FALL ANTIQUES SHOW

Photos: Cris Capiello

MUSEUM NEWS

THE CUTTING EDGE SYMPOSIUM

SPECIAL PROGRAMS FREE TO THE PUBLIC

Over 150 people participated in The Cutting Edge Symposium, December 7 and 8,1990, held in conjunction with the current Museum of American Folk Art exhibition The Cutting Edge. Topics included "Outposts of Contemporary Art: The Southwest': which focused on Native American Art, and "The Age of Discovery 1960.19907 in which speakers instrumental in encouraging folk artists discussed their roles. Barbara Cate, exhibition curator and Director of the Folk Art Institute, introduced a lively question-and-answer period. livelve nationally known dealers also participated in an open forum on issues, problems, and trends in contemporary folk art. Following the forum, the group visited several galleries, the Museum of American Folk Art Library and Archives, and the home of Dr. Robert Bishop, Director of the Museum of American Folk Art.

Unless otherwise indicated, all events are held at: Museum of American Folk Art/Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York, NY 10023-6214, 212/595-9533 THE QUILT ENCYCLOPEDIA March 14,1991-June 9,1991 The Quilt Encyclopedia has been made possible through the generosity of the following donors to the Museum of American Folk Art Exhibition Fund: Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Brown, Marian and Donald DeWitt, Simca and Terry Heled, Dr. and Mrs. R.L. Polak, and Randy Siegel. Continuous Showing of Films on Quilting March 14,1991-June 9,1991 Quilts in Women's Lives(28 min) The Hawaiian Quilt: A Cherished Thadition (56 min) Quilting: The Fabric ofAmerica(15 min) Quilting Party(3 min) Hardman Quilt:Portrait ofan Age(10 min) Under the Covers(11 min) The Quilt Encyclopedia Wednesday, March 20,1991 at 6 pm Lecture by Carter Houck, Guest Curator

The New York State Quilt Project TUesday, April 9,1991 at6 pm Lecture by Phyllis Tepper, Director of the New York Quilt Project Mother's Day Quilting Demonstration Saturday, May 11, 1991 from 2-5 pm Expert quitter Pat Yamin will show mothers and children how to make basic quilted squares and other items for a special and personal start to this Mother's Day. All materials provided.

FOLK ART EXPLORERS' CLUB NEWS Museum members participated in a whirlwind trip to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Included were tours of the New Orleans Museum of Art and Rural Life Museum, visits to seven private homes, private receptions at three folk art galleries, a tour of the San Francisco Plantation Home and local sightseeing, including a walking tour of the historic Garden District in New Orleans. The group also enjoyed several outstanding gourmet meals, including a Louisiana picnic lunch served in wooden trays decorated by folk artist M.H. Connor, and a nine-course dinner prepared by famous Cajun/Creole chef, John Folse, at Lafitte's Landing restaurant in Baton Rouge. Tour guides Beth Bergin and Chris Cappiello would like to thank the following people for helping to make this trip such a wonderful success: Collectors Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Yelen, Paul and Alvina Havercamp, Gerry Fell, Thomas Whitehead and Steele Burden; as well as William Fagaly, Assistant Director of

Spring 1991

Above from left to right: Dr. Kurt Giner talking to Marilyn Schwartz and Richard and Carol Hauser at Dr. Gitter's farm outside of New Orleans. Below: Artist Ralph Fasanella speaking to a group of Folk Art Explorers about his work.

the New Orleans Museum of Art; John Dutton of the Rural Life Museum; Richard Gasperi of Gasperi Gallery; Shelby and Marie Gilley, of Gilley's Gallery; Al Boudreaux and A.P. Antippas of Barrister's Gallery; Chancellor Bud Davis of Louisiana State University; and Chef John Folse, owner of Lafitte's Landing restaurant. Very special thanks go to Museum member Jill Rigby, who very generously worked to arrange the outstanding events in Baton Rouge for us. On Tuesday, November 13, 1990, twenty-six Museum members participated in a day trip around the New York Metropolitan area. Included were several tours of private folk art collections in Westchester County and Connecticut and a visit to the home offolk artist Ralph Fasanella. Fasanella generously presented each member of the tour with a signed poster. Our special thanks to Museum members Gael Mendelsohn, Cynthia Ross, and Laurie Carmody for their generous hospitality.

CELEBRATE "DISCOVER AMERICA" AT THE GREAT AMERICAN QUILT FESTIVAL 3 BY CATHY RASMUSSEN

nues to travel seemed virtually endless. Because previous contests had focused on the talents of individual quiltmakers and more limited themes, we decided, as an experiment, to expand "Discover America" to include a

series of possibilities. A total of four contests emerged from this central idea: "Discover America',' crib-sized quilts made by individuals; "Friends Sharing America': full-sized quilts executed by groups;"Young People's America','fab-

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Innovation, excitement, energy, and beauty are all different and complementary facets of the sparkling "Discover America" celebration planned for The Great American Quilt Festival 3 at Pier 92 in New York City on May 1-5, 1991. The Hudson River will provide a stunning backdrop for the incredible array of quilt displays that will be showcased during the five-day event, and exciting textile discoveries are in store for everyone who takes part in this spectacular tribute to the quilter's art! The biennial Festival is a Museum of American Folk Art event in association with Sanford L. Smith & Associates, Ltd. and presented by Northern, the Quilted Bathroom Tissue, Fairfield Processing Corporation/Poly-File and Springmaids Fabrics, a division of Springs Industries. The "Discover America" theme evolved from an open forum on what the Museum's direction would be for the next contest held in conjunction with The Great American Quilt Festival. Although originally conceived around the approaching 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in America, the whole premise of"discovery" eventually expanded far beyond that as we realized the potential such a theme could have. It was a topic that instantly appealed to everyone, primarily because it broadened the overall scope of the contest beyond recognition of Columbus's voyage and opened up so many diverse possibilities for interpretation. With this in mind, our hope was that people would include images of their own personal discoveries of America. Whether this would be accomplished through special remembrances of a particular vacation spot, exploring life in America through books, television, or films, or reflections on one's ethnic origins, the ave-

"Discover America" First Grand Prizewinner; Discover America: The Early Travelers; Dawn Amos; Rapid City, SD;1990; cotton muslin;45 x 54". The Clarion

U111 ric drawings created by children; and "America's Flower Garden: full-sized quilts done by individuals. The "Discover America" exhibition, the cornerstone exhibit of the Festival and sponsored by Fairfield and Springmaid, will be the largest single display of quilts on the Pier. This exhibition of prizewinning quilts from the Museum's international contest will set the tone for our celebration and delight viewers with its unique and varied interpretation of the theme. The overall theme will be continued with the exhibition,"Friends Sharing America" â&#x20AC;&#x201D; prizewinning quilts made by groups of three or more quilters from another of the Museum's

international contests. These full-sized quilts reflect that unique bond that quilters have with one another, and the close friendships and working relationships that developed through the achievement of a common goal are evident in this charming group of special quilts. The quilts from "Discover America" and "Friends Sharing America" will be permanently captured in a book published by Dutton Studio Books in cooperation with the Museum of American Folk Art. Also on display at the Pier will be the winning entries from the "Young People's America" fabric drawing contest. With elements of both naivetĂŠ and

"Friends Sharing America" First Grand Prizewinner; Edith and Polly; Variable Star Quilters: Sallie Astheimer, Sandy Barford, Ann Bean, Ann Chess, Jody Clemens, Nancy Coyle, Jan Deitcher, June Garges, Barb Garrett, Susan Goelz, Norma Grasse, Melissa Horn, Bev Musselman, Nancy Roan, Bertha Rush, Mary Shelly, Eleanor Shubert;Souderton, PA;1990;cotton, lace; 72 x 72". Spring 1991

sophistication, these blocks illustrate the charm of a child's perspective on the surrounding world. Ingenuity and style are also mixed together to result in the incredible quilted dolls in the invitational exhibition,"Dollmakers' Magic7 sponsored by VIP Fabrics and Fairfield Processing Corporation. During the Festival, additional dolls will be on display at the American Festival Cafe at Rockefeller Center near the Museum Book and Gift Shop. These exhibitions will provide some very special treats for young and old alike! Although only a sampling of the quilts from the "America's Flower Garden" contest, sponsored by Northern, the Quilted Bathroom Tissue, will be on display at the Festival, the complete collection of winning quilts from this international contest will be exhibited at the Museum of American Folk Art/ Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square, New York City from June 20 to September 15, 1991, with additional support from Northern. This spectacular array of color and flowers highlights the talents of quilters who see the world through "rose"-colored glasses! These prizewinning quilts will be included in an address book published by Dutton Studio Books in cooperation with the Museum of American Folk Art. An exhibition of antique patriotic quilts, "Stars and Stripes Forever: Patriotic Quilts from the Marilyn and Milton Brechner Collection7 brings an early Fourth-of-July flavor to the "Discover America" celebration at the Pier. These quilts sport eagles, banners, shields, and,ofcourse,stars and stripes and reflect the great patriotic fervor of their times as well as of their makers. Although glimpses of the collection were seen in the office surroundings of the Brechners in the Spring 1991 issue of The Clarion, this will be the firsttime public showing of this important collection. With its red, white, and blue color scheme, this exhibit will be a splendid and lively addition to our quilt displays. The social and political concerns of quilters today and yesterday will be vividly captured in the exhibition, "Quilts of Conscience,'curated by staff member and Program Chairperson for 43

the Festival, Karla Friedlich. This grouping of antique and contemporary quilts demonstrates the intensity felt by the quiltmakers about the political, social, cultural, and environmental concerns reflected in their quilts. From war to the suffragette movement to current environment issues, there is no question that this interesting and thought-provoking exhibition will expand the awareness of all who see it. (See "Quilts of Conscience': pp. 47-54 of this issue, for a sneak preview of the exhibition.) Many people have the mistaken idea that quilting only takes place over quilting frames in studios someplace in the rural Midwest, but this myth will be quickly dispelled with the contemporary quilts included in the "Citiquilts" exhibition. This invitational, open only to quilters in the New York City area, will showcase the variety and vivacity of the quilting that is occurring in a number of diverse settings within a major urban environment. Quilts will range from the traditional to the avant garde and reflect the creativity stimulated by city life. (See "Citiquilts' pp. 55-59 of this issue, for a sampling of the artists included.) During the Festival, the exhibition at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square will be "The Quilt Encyclopedia:' This A-to-Z look at quilting is curated by Carter Houck and will include examples of the major American quilting traditions, from early appliquĂŠs to modern art quilts. The exhibition will display 30 full-size quilts, plus quilted clothing (both antique and modern), doll quilts and other miniature quilts and furniture, and implements used for making quilts, past and present. Approximately one-third of the quilts in the show will come from the permanent collection of the Museum of American Folk Art and include some of the museum's most popular and important examples: the "Centennial" quilt, made in 1876 to celebrate the nation's first one hundred years; "Pieties:' an unusual red-and-white quilt decorated with hand-pieced moral sayings; the possibly unique "Map Crazy Quilt:' which combines the Victorian crazy quilt with a map of the United States; and Amish quilts from 44

the museum's extensive holdings in that area. A special book,"The Quilt Encyclopedia Illustrated' written by Carter Houck and published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in cooperation with the Museum of American Folk Art, will accompany the exhibition. Quilt collectors and quiltmakers alike will want to be sure to include this comprehensive publication in their libraries. Anecdotal and historical information about the quilts on display will be provided by Museum staff members as they lead special groups on private walking tours of all of the exhibitions before the Festival and Gallery open to the general public. This "inside" view should prove to be a highlight for those

attendees as they stroll the Pier and Gallery before the crowds arrive. Another exciting facet of the Festival will be the more than 140 exhibitors, all of whom will have an incredible array of merchandise available for perusal and sale. Antique and contemporary quilts, country and craft items, quilting notions and supplies, quilting accessories, books, fabrics, wearable art, decorative items, and much more will be among the items offered. For the Festival, each booth becomes a unique and carefully decorated display that lends even more color and visual appeal to the already exciting event. The comprehensive educational programming for The Great American

RUSSIA DISCOVERS AMERICA During The Great American Quilt Festival 3 a special exhibit of Russian quilts will be on display at the Pier. This exhibition, which will have its premier United States showing at the Festival, was adapted from the Museum of American Folk Art's "Discover America" contest. Using a copy of the contest rules as a guideline, Russian entrants made their quilts with the same dimensions(45" x 54") and with distinctive American themes,even though most of them have never been to the United States. Made by both amateur and professional quiltmakers from all parts of Russia, these quilts continue to carry on a well-established Russian tradition. According to Galina Pavelkovskaya, the Curator of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts in Moscow and the organizer of this exhibition,"The sewing of quilts, spreads, and blankets has connections with the development of the textile industry in Russia in the nineteenth century, and this intricate art of piecing together small scraps of fabric was widespread in both the city and country. Its aesthetic uniqueness has been preserved up until the present time!' Using many geometric variations mixed with an abundance ofcolor, these charming quilts have great emotional appeal. The complete exhibition of over a hundred pieces, including quilted garments and collages, was shown at the AllRussian Museum through the late summer and early fall of last year. We are delighted to be able to have a portion of this exhibition as part of The Great American Quilt Festival. This original piece designed by Moscow quitter Strecalova T. Opekauaba is entitled "Discovery ofAmerica:. The background material is cotton while the center is composed ofsilk, prints, and blendedfabrics. The quilt is approximately 45"x 54"and is embroidered and appliquĂŠd.

The Clarion

Quilt Festival 3 will truly be a "Discover America" celebration. For the first time, all of the lectures will be presented on the Pier during the Festival itself, while workshops, seminars, and evening programs will be held off-site at the Festival headquarters hotel, the Days Inn. On each of the five Festival days, the lectures will focus on a particular aspect of quilting, that is, collecting, decorating, historic quilts, and contemporary quiltmalcing. The workshops and lectures will continue discussion on and enhance the lecture topics in a smaller forum. The Festival will get off to a lively start as the first day of programming will be sponsored by Country Living

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Magazine. All of the lectures presented on the Pier will revolve around decorating with quilts, developing the country look for your home, and learning the ins and outs of the quilt market. The staff of the magazine will serve as lecturers, and they will be on hand all day to greet participants and answer questions. Historical lectures will "blanket" the country by including presentations on Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and California, and on Native American and AfricanAmerican quilts. Quilts as a means of personal expression will also be explored, as topics range from auto-

biographical close-ups of the work of several well-known contemporary quitters to an exploration of quiltmaking as an expression of social concern. The theme of inventive quiltrnaking will include topics that focus on the innovative and embellishment techniques that can transform a good quilt into a great one. The programming for the final day of the Festival will focus on the family. Lectures of interest to the entire family will blend the historical and contemporary sides of quilting. The lecturer for this day will even dress the part as she progresses from pioneer quiltmaker to contemporary textile artist. In addition, specific workshops for children will

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Bog Coat Goes to a Party in a glittering bit of fantasy created by Virginia Avery for Fairfield Processing Corporation's Tivelfth Anniversary Wearable Art Fashion Show.

Pieties Quilt; Maria Cadman Hubbard; probably New York State or New England;1848;pieced 2x 810";Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, 1 cotton;88/ gift of Cyril I. Nelson in loving memory of his parents, Cyril Arthur and Elise Macy Nelson.

introduce them to design through hands-on coloring activities. As a special treat, a lecture on quilting from the male perspective will be included. It will be a day that the whole family can appreciate! The wide range of half-day and allday workshops offered during the five days of the Festival will provide something for everyone's individual interests and tastes. Subjects will include design techniques, color workshops, machine appliquĂŠ, and hand quilting. The traditional as well as the contemporary will be highlighted in classes ranging from crazy quilting to working with mixed media to nature to kaleidoscopes. Rounding out the program will be seminars on collecting and caring for

both old and new quilts and on starting a quilt business. As in the past, a special program of workshops sponsored by Bernina of America, Inc., will be available on the Pier. These half-hour free workshops are designed to provide instruction in the latest sewing techniques, and Bernina sewing machines will be available for attendees to use. Participants will leave the class with a finished project and, it is hoped, with plans for future ones as well. The Festival festivities will continue each evening as special activities put the perfect fmishing touches to the day. Winners from the Museum's quilt contests will be honored the first night of the Festival at a special awards presen-

THE GREAT AMERICAN QUILT FESTIVAL RAFFLE Through the phenomenal success of the raffle held at the 1989 Great American Quilt Festival, the Museum of American Folk Art was able to purchase the beautiful quilt shown on the cover ofthis issue of The Clarion. This year two very special raffles will be held at the Festival. Bernina of America,Inc. has generously donated one oftheir #1010 portable sewing machines as a raffle prize. If you have always wanted to own a Bernina, this could be your chance! For the second raffle, the first prize is a wonderful crib quilt that has been graciously donated by antique quilt dealer Shelly Zegart. The second prize is a small blanket chest decorated with hex signs in brick red and dark green. This chest, part ofthe Museum of American Folk Art's American Collection by Lane Company, Inc., has been generously donated by Lane. Tickets for both raffles are $1.00 each or twenty-four for $20.00. All proceeds from the raffles will go toward the quilt acquisition fund for the Museum of American Folk Art. Raffle quilt: Rising Star crib quilt in orange, red, and green;artist unknown;Schonerville, PA; 1889;cotton;43 x44". Graciously donated by antique quilt dealer Shelly Zegart, this quilt will be raffled at The Great American Quilt Festival 3.

tation at the Museum of American Folk Art/Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Lincoln Square, New York City. Other evening events will include an international "show and share" and a fashion "show and share" parade. The final evening event will be the always-memorable Fairfield Processing Corporation Fashion Show hosted by Donna Wilder. For this twelfth anniversary show the invitational garments will be done around a brilliant theme â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend:' This event will truly bring a "sparkling" finish to the Festival! To continue our "Discover America" celebration on a more local level, tours highlighting the attractions of New York City will be scheduled throughout the Festival. Participants will be able to explore many of the interesting and exciting aspects of the city by taking advantage of the Museum's entertaining and educational staff-guided tours. Visitors will be able to see Gracie Mansion, the historic home of the Mayor of New York City; the Abigail Adams Smith house, one of the few remaining eighteenth-century structures in Manhattan; and a private residence filled with quilts. A tour of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the United Nations will also be available, along with a walking tour of the Museum's Upper West Side neighborhood, which includes the elegant Lincoln Center. Night-time fun will include a chance to root for the home team at the ball park or see the lights on Broadway with tickets to "City of Angels:' New York City and The Great American Quilt Festival make a winning combination! With over 35,000 people expected to attend, this Festival should prove to be our best and busiest one yet. Visitors from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, and Scandinavia will be here to help us celebrate America's greatest textile tradition. Plan on joining us for our "Discover America" celebration at The Great American Quilt Festival 3, May 1-5,1991. I look forward to seeing you there!

Cathy Rasmussen is Director ofThe Great American Quilt Festival 3. The Clarion

GTM

QUILTS OF CONSCIENCE BY KARLA FRIEDLICH

As we enter this new decade, it seems that quiltmakers, through their art, are increasingly reaching beyond themselves to try to make the world a better, safer place to live. Using their quilts as canvases on which to provide viewers messages of import, many quilters are now addressing such global issues as world peace, a clean environment, and the AIDS epidemic, as well as various local concerns in such diverse areas as South Africa, Ireland, and the Middle East. This focus on larger issues, on quilting 'for a cause,' has brought an exciting dimension to the quilting scene, energizing quilters to get involved in the global community as they never have been before. Quite a number are, in fact, new to this craft but have found quilting an expressive way to have an impact on the world around them that is both personally satisfying and meaningful in a wider context. Sometimes working in groups and sometimes on their own, these quilters are creating strong and vibrant works that make eloquent statements in support of particular causes. Through the efforts of many of these people, much-needed or additional attention is being brought to bear on a number of the crucial issues that face our nation and the world today. Such vitality and commitment to outstanding issues of the times is, however, nothing new. In fact, for as long as women in this country have been making quilts they have made quilts 'of conscience' — quilts that express their concern about the important moral, social, and ethical issues of their time. In the early years of this nation, when women had few rights, quiltmaking allowed them to participate in history, sometimes in a symbolic, and sometimes very real, manner. Many nineteenth- and twentieth-century quilts were made to raise money for social reforms, church-related good Spring 1991

works, or war relief. Sometimes quilts were raffled or sold, and sometimes people donated some set amount to have their names signed or embroidered on a quilt, which would then often also be auctioned, with all proceeds contributed to a good cause. This tradition of making fundraiser quilts was an outgrowth of the early evangelical protestant women's benevolent societies, which met regularly to sew and collect money for the church's missions and for widows and orphans. "This was a natural arena for women who were thought to be inherently pious, domestic, and morally superior to men:' one author notes.' Numerous sources have also noted that American women in the developing years of our country relished the opportunity to leave the comparative isolation of their homes to attend such group gatherings, which provided opportunities for socialization as well as for good works. As the century progressed, women enlarged the scope of their activities and became active in social reform movements. Exhorted by fiery ministers that "Your voice should be heard the loudest and the first in defense of that domestic peace which it is your peculiar province to secure, God expects it of you — nay more;God and the perishing hopes of the world demand that you direct your influence against every system which dares to invade the repose of the family circle:' women

responded by establishing societies to protect their family circles against the genuine evils of slavery, alcohol, and the moral double standard, among other things.' The Ladies Benevolent Sewing Society of Strongville, Ohio, for example, was a typical association. Organized in 1848 by ten members of the Free Congregational Church in Strongville, a recently formed congregation whose members had withdrawn from their parent church over the slavery issue, these women made clothing and quilts, most of which were sent to Africa or to communities of fugitive slaves who had relocated in Canada. Many of these societies, even those established independently of the church, were based on the ecclesiastical model and owed much to religious benevolent associations.3 It was a short and logical step for these women's groups to advance from making quilts for needy people to making quilts for a specific cause — and to raise money in the process. At a Ladies Anti-Slavery Fair held Thursday, December 22, 1836, in Massachusetts, a cradle quilt containing the following inscription was among the items offered for sale: "Mother! When around your child/You clasp your arms in love,/and when with grateful joy you raise/Your eyes to God above — /Think of the Negro mother/When her child is torn away — /Sold for a little slave—oh, then,/For that poor mother pray!" The

QUILTS OF CONSCIENCE ON EXHIBIT Many of the "Quilts of Conscience" pictured in this article, along with a group of other significant examples, will be on view throughout The Great American Quilt Festival 3 at the Pier from May 1-5, 1991. The exhibit, comprising antique and contemporary quilts, demonstrates more than a century of social and political concerns, from the Civil War through the suffragette movement to today's environmental issues. Make sure that this stimulating and evocative collection finds a place on your agenda for the Quilt Festival!

CIVIL WAR QUILT Maker unknown; Florence, Massachusetts; 1865; pieced cotton with ink inscriptions;88 x 52". Photo courtesy ofAmerica Hurrah Antiques

Figure 1 48

account of the fair, which appeared in The Liberator, an abolitionist journal published by the Boston reformer, William Loyd Garrison, also reported that "the ladies have ever regarded the pecuniary benefit derived from these sales as but one ofthe several reasons in their favor....the main object is to keep the subject before the public eye... To this end the ladies labeled their quilts Weapons for Abolitionists!' Women also expressed their ideas or beliefs by renaming a traditional quilt design. Ferrero notes that "Patterns which had for years had Biblical or domestic references were given new, more relevant names by women who had current social concerns on their minds!" For example, at the height of the anti-slavery sentiment, in the North the familiar pattern once called 'Jacob's Tears' became 'Slave Chain: and `Jacob's Ladder' came to be called 'Underground Railroad: Ferrero goes on to say, "Underground Railroad: with its series of contrasting light and dark squares leading to central areas suggesting the 'safe houses' that harbored escaping slaves along the route to Canada, was a powerful visual dramatization of the checkered and dangerous path to freedom!' The Civil War was a cataclysmic event in the lives of everyone in this country, whether they lived in the North or the South. Women turned their attentions from their usual household duties and benevolent good works to intensive war relief. They made quilts to benefit their respective sides in various ways;some made quilts to keep the soldiers warm, some to raffle off to raise money for supplies for the armies, and some simply to express their firm belief in the justness of their cause. The tradition of making a friendship quilt to give to someone leaving on a journey was commonplace in the nineteenth century, and this ordinary pracThe Clarion

SUFFRAGETTE QUILT Maker unknown; Tuscarawa County, Ohio; c. 1912;pieced cotton with embroidered names. Photo courtesy ofSusan Parrish Antiques.

tice was adapted to make a tangible contribution to the war effort. Quilts made and autographed by members of a young man's family, community, or church were the type of quilt most often given to a soldier going off to war. Pieced or appliquéd, some made from leftover scraps of material and some made from incongruously fine fabrics, these quilts frequently were embellished with poems and sayings embroidered or written in indelible ink. "Be true to Humanity and to Freedom/Ye are martyrs to a good cause" admonished one notable quilt of this type, made in Florence, Massachusetts, in 1865!"Unusually narrow as if made for an army cot this pieced quilt was evidently a collective effort; the quilting in each square is noticeably different!"(Figure 1) Women in South Carolina in the early years of the war made beautiful friendship quilts for soldiers in the traditional appliqué style then popular in this region. "These presentation quilts reflect the local German album style of the Dutch Fork community during the 1860s and '70s. Typically appliqué motifs are highly stylized rather than representational. The optimism, confidence, and generosity of women at home is reflected in quilts made for their soldiers, though [they often] show more thought to symbolic support than to practicality, as well as a possible naiveté about the realities of war. Obviously, less delicate, warmer quilts would have been more practical for soldiers in camp:" Another exceptionally fine South Carolina quilt, the Secession Quilt, survives from this period. This is an elaborate white-work quilt made by Mrs. Jemima Ann Cook of Fairfield County in 1860 to express support for her beloved South. The quilt contains the word 'secession' and the names of prominent secessionists of the time. Spring 1991

Figure 2

Formal presentation quilts were the type most often made to be raffled to raise money for war supplies. The socalled Alabama Gunboat quilts are interesting examples of this genre. Of the six quilts that were made for the benefit of the Women's Gunboat Fund in 1861 and 1862, the whereabouts of only two are now known. Both these were made by Martha Jane Hatter of Greensboro, Alabama, who used a design format typical of the early nineteenth century, a framed center floral appliqué motif. She also used expensive silk fabrics — at her time an innovation — to create pieces "obviously conceived not

as a bedquilt but as a showcase for her considerable needlework skills!' As was a common practice in the South at that time, Martha Hatter combined a traditional design with exceptionally fine fabrics to create a showpiece quilt that would attract attention and raise money for the cause. That these are quilts of conscience is evident only through existing documentation; stylistically they are no different from any of the quilts being made in the region before and during these years. After the war, women again focused their extra energies on confronting the ills of society. Founded in 1874, the 49

BLUE EAGLE NRA QUILT Maker unknown;c. 1934;pieced, appliquéd, and embroidered cotton;&Ph x 73/ 1 2". Photo courtesy ofthe Franklin D.Roosevelt Library.

Figure 3

Women's Christian Temperance Union grew to become the largest women's organization of the nineteenth century as well as a powerful moral and political force. "In 1876 over 3,000 Ohio women contributed 10 cents each to have their names embroidered on a WCTU 'crusade quilt'. This quilt, presented by the organization's president, Frances Willard, to Eliza Thompson of Hillsboro, Ohio, at the 1877 national 50

convention, was a loaded symbol to its makers:'beautiful evidence of woman's skill and taste . . . and evidence of woman's patience in matters of detail — a quality that had been valuable in temperance reform', they noted. To Willard it symbolized victory over the oppression of women!" WCTU members continued to make fundraiser and presentation quilts well into the twentieth century; they also expressed their

sentiment and support for the movement by making 'Drunkard's Path' quilts. These quilts, "suggesting a humor and wit not usually associated with the high moral tone of the W.C.T.U., were often blue and white, the official colors of the organization!' Another powerful group of women who promoted and publicized their aims by making fundraiser quilts were the suffragettes. One wonderful example is the Flag Quilt made in Tuscarawa County, Ohio, around 1912(Figure 2). This quilt contains the signatures of over 350 suffragettes, including Susan B. Anthony, the leader of the organization. With the advent of World War I quilters once again focused on war relief efforts. At this time, the American Red Cross organization was rapidly growing in influence and strength. Now "the United States government actually urged its citizens to make quilts! In 1918 there appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers the slogan 'Make quilts — save the blankets for our boys over there." '"3 In 1917 the Modem Priscilla magazine featured an article giving directions, patterns, and procedures for making these Red Cross fundraiser quilts.' Many of these quilts are still known today, and among the best documented is one made by Alma Lauder Keeling of Oregon in 1918. In an interview in 1982 Keeling reminisced about how she came to make this quilt:"... with much time on my hands ... we didn't even have a radio in those days...the idea occurred to me to make the Red Cross quilt and have everyone I could contact donate 'so much' to have their names embroidered on the quilt. Most of those donations were only $1.00 but there were also those who gave more for a conspicuous place on the quilt. I really don't know where I got all those names on the Red Cross Quilt, for our homestead cabin was The Clarion

DACHAU QUILT Maker unknown;Poland, 1945;pieced wools and cotton; 70 x 77. Photo courtesy ofAmerica Hurrah Antiques

miles from even a store. All the money was turned over to the Condon, Oregon, chapter of the Red Cross! I didn't even take out the cost of the goods in the quilt, as that, and the hours of work on it, were my donation to the war effort!"5 In 1919 Keeling was inspired to make another quilt, this one to raise money to 'adopt' (by long distance) French children orphaned by the war. In a letter describing this quilt, Mrs. Keeling observed that"few people had gone back to handquilting then, so [she] had the work done by a shop which specialized in machine As American society became more industrialized(a process speeded up by World War I), women's handwork of all types, including quilting, became less popular. During the Great Depression of the 1930s some quilts were made to affirm support for several of the government's ambitious social/economic policies, such as the National Recovery Act(Figure 3)and the Townsend Plan. Small isolated church groups or individual activists also helped keep the fundraiser quilt tradition alive throughout this period. Then, the advent of another World War again prompted quilters to rally to the cause, but this time in fewer numbers. There is, however, a particularly moving quilt from those war years that has recently come to light, the so-called Dachau Quilt (Figure 4). It is made from small rectangular scraps of what appears to be men's suiting fabric and is dated 1945. All that is really known about the quilt at this time is that it was brought back to the United States after the war by an American military man who kept his souvenir collection of German guns wrapped in it. It is thought that this quilt was probably made as a memorial to all those imprisoned and lost at Dachau, perhaps by a survivor or survivors of the camp." Spring 1991

Figure 4

The 1960s in the United States witnessed a tremendous resurgence of interest in handcrafts, especially quilting, as part of the movement to take people back to their roots, back to nature and 'natural' things, back to self-reliance. The nascent women's movement simultaneously caused an awakening to the possibilities inherent in the individual and collective power of women. Once again women began to come together to speak out against the injustices in the world and to look for ways to have a tangible impact on their

society. Quilting once again became a way for women's voices to be heard. In 1969 Irene Miller, a needlework expert and yarn shop owner in Crotonon-Hudson, New York, decided to invite some women to make a quilt to raise money for the environmental groups interested in protecting the Hudson River, then threatened by severe pollution. At this time the fundraiser quilt was an old 'new' scheme,one that hadn't been widely practiced for many years, except in church groups in small rural communities. Given guidelines 51

r..12

HUDSON RIVER GUILT Thirty women ofthe Hudson River area;New York State, 1969-1972;pieced and appliqued cottons;96 x 79". Photo courtesy ofIrene Preston Miller

Figure 5

and practical advice by Miller, thirty women, aged 20 to almost 80, each made their own square depicting some aspect of life along the river. (Figure 5) They came together to do the actual quilting, as in an old fashioned quilting bee. Miller notes: "I invited people I knew who cared about the river; needlework or quilting ability was not the consideration:"8 The quilt succeeded 52

beyond the group's wildest imaginings. Finished in 1972, the Hudson River Quilt went on an eighteen-year odyssey of exhibition and travel to raise people's awareness about the river's plight and was finally auctioned at Sotheby's in January, 1990, for $23,000, "probably a record for a contemporary quilt:" The profit was divided evenly among three environmental groups devoted to

the river's welfare. The Hudson River quilt has attained near legendary status and has become known as the 'first group quilt for a cause' of this era.' It continues to be the inspiration and model for many other contemporary group 'quilts of conscience'. Another seminal contemporary piece was the first Boise Peace Quilt, conceived and made by a group of women in Boise, Idaho, in 1981. Distressed by the delayed adverse health effects suffered by friends and family members from desert nuclear testing in Utah in the 1950s, two friends, Anne Hausrath and Diane Jones, formed the Boise Peace Quilt Project and set about making a quilt that they planned to send to the Soviet Union as a gesture of friendship. Since that time, the Boise Peace Quilt Project has grown to involve many women, men, and children, who have produced over a dozen quilts. The one shown here(figure 6)was a cooperative production of American and Soviet women and has gone to Russia; others went to honor peace activists in America and other countries. The Boise peace quilters now have many international quilting friends and supporters. Not only do they continue to make quilts themselves at a prodigious pace, but their organization has also spawned a multitude of quilting projects around the world. Another hugely successful project, ABC Quilts, was organized by Ellen Ahlgren of Northwood, New Hampshire, in 1988 in response to an article detailing the sad plight of 3000 babies infected with the AIDS virus living in hospitals. She began a grass-roots effort to persuade each of her friends and neighbors to make a quilt for one of these children. News of the project quickly spread, first by word of mouth among quilting groups, then by articles in national quilting publications and elsewhere, and the response has been The Clarion

SOVIET AMERICAN PEACE QUILT American and Soviet Women;1985;pieced, appliquéd, and embroidered cottons. Photo courtesy ofthe Boise Peace Quilt Project

overwhelmingly positive. To date, thousands of ABC quilts have been made in over 44 states and five foreign countries, not only by adults in quilt groups but also by classes of school children and members of scout troops. The Names Project memorial quilt is yet another response to the devastating disease of AIDS. This 'quilt', made up of thousands of panels,each of which is a memorial to someone who has died of the disease, has been designed and executed by people whose lives have been touched by AIDS. So far more than 9,000 people from 50 states and 16 foreign countries have contributed to this quilt.' This, too, is an ongoing project; as more and more people pay tribute to a lost loved one,the size ofthe quilt grows yearly. In 1989 quilt artist Susan Shie decided to use her expertise to make a statement to "affirm the earth: to send a positive message about ecology" and about her love of nature." She invited other quilters to join her in making a 'green quilt' of their own to raise people's consciousness about our endatYgered environment. The response has been very strong, and a registry of 'green quilts' already contains several hundred slides. Encouraged by these contemporary successes, many groups and individuals are now turning to quilting as a way to express their commitment to a cause and to make a difference. Quilting publications are full of articles about current projects, from the Long Island Quilters making lap quilts for S.E.R.V.E. the Handicapped, Inc., to the many local guilds that make quilts for the Ronald McDonald Houses, homes away from home for hundreds of parents and siblings of sick children confined to hospitals, to the Crystal Quilt project, "a tableau vivant staged in Minneapolis on Mother's Day, 1987, [that] arranged its participants — Spring 1991

Figure 6

women over 60— into a human quilt in order to make a moving statement on the value of older women, all too often considered the effluvia of society:'" The most recent outgrowth of this resurgence of quilting for a cause is the veritable explosion of personal statement quilts made by individuals (these days, women and men) who use their work to foster an awareness of the ills and injustices they see around them. Many of these quilters are artists who happen to work in the medium of quilting, and their work is visionary and powerful. The stark, brooding

pieces of Penny Sisto were featured in a recent article in a leading quilting magazine, and Katharine Knauer's 'Unquiet Quilts' which address the issue of violence in our society with irony and eloquence (Figure 7), were exhibited in a one-woman show in early 1990. Wendy Lewington Coulter, from British Columbia, Canada, deals with inherently distasteful subjects such as domestic abuse in a subtly moving manner; Jennifer Regan highlights the sorry condition of homeless women in fabric work that is naive yet sophisticated; and Marge Burkell speaks out 53

CONFLICT Katharine Knauer; New York, New York;1988;pieced and appliqued cottons;88 x 85".

the body, the mind, and the soul, the quilt of conscience is certainly an example of quilting at its best. Karla Friedlich is Program Chairperson for the Great American Quilt Festivals. She is also the editor of the postcard books, published by Dover Publications, of the objects from the permanent collection of the Museum of American Folk Art. She is a graduate of the Master's program in American Folk Art at New York University.

Figure 7

against the tragedy in China with abstract but evocative imagery. These are just a few of the many talented quilters who are devoting major effort to making today's quilts of conscience. Quilting for a cause has become so mainstream, in fact, that People magazine made note of the trend last year with an article entitled "Sewing up a Storm: Quiltmakers Needle the Status Quo!'" A quilting renaissance is now in full flower. There are conferences, exhibitions, and symposiums taking place all over the world; magazines about quilting are flourishing; and quilt projects of every size and description pop up like mushrooms wherever one looks. With the popularity of quilting at an all-time 54

high, the boundaries of this traditional craft are constantly expanding to include ever more provocative and innovative use of color, design, and materials, as well as subject matter. As more and more people have discovered the possibilities inherent in the medium, quilting for a cause has also gained momentum. It is very hard indeed to resist the appeal of a quilt, a fact that makes quilts an especially effective means of expression. It seems that this deceptively simple and traditional `women's work' is uniquely suited to humanizing our high-tech society, and to calling attention, in a most positive way, to many of the problems that beset the world today. Satisfying to the eye,

NOTES 1. Clark, Ricky, "The Needlework of an American Lady: Social History in Quilts': in The Heart of Pennsylvania; Proceeds of a Symposium, edited by Jeanette Lasansky, Lewisberg, Pennsylvania, The Oral Traditions Project of the Union County Historical Society, 1986, p.72. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Sandi Fox,Small Endearments:Nineteenth-Century Quilts for Children, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985, p.104. See also Clark, "The Needlework of a Lady': p.74. 5. Pat Ferrero,Hearts andHands,San Francisco,Quilt Digest Press, 1987, p.69. 6. Ibid. 7. Jennifer Regan, American Quilts: A Sampler of Quilts and Their Stories, (New York, Gallery Books, 1989, p.101. 8. Ibid., p.102. 9. Laurel Horton,"South Carolina Quilts and the Civil War',' Uncoverings, 1985, Vol. 6, p.55, 56. 10. Bryding Adams Henley,"Alabama Gunboat Quilts7 Uncoverings, 1987, Vol. 8, p.17. 11. Clark, "The Needlework of an American Lady: p.74. 12. Ferrero, Hearts and Hands, p.84. 13. From Cuesta Benberry, as quoted in Jean Ray Laury and The California Heritage Quilt Project, Ho For California! Pioneer Women and Their Quilts, New York, E.P. Dutton, 1990, p.105. 14. Laury et al., Hofor California, p.105. 15. Nancy J. Rowley, "Red Cross Quilts for the Great War': Uncoverings, 1982, Vol 3, pp.46,47. 16. Dorothy Cozart, The Role and Look of Fundraising Quilts;' in Pieced by Mother: Symposium Papers, edited by Jeanette Lasansky, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania,The Oral Traditions Project ofthe Union County Historical Society, 1988, p.92. 17. Research on this quilt is currently in progress. 18. Bonnie Leman, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, June 1990, p.89. 19. Ibid. 20. Roberta Hershenson, "Hudson River Quilt Going under the Graver The New York Times, Sunday,Jan. 14, 1990. 21. Regan, American Quilts, p.121. 22. David Lewis, "Peaceful Pieces',' The Boise Peace Quilt Project, Winter, 1990, p.24. 23. Patricia Mainardi, "Quilt Survivals and Revivals: Arts Magazine, May 1990, p.53. 24. People Extra;"Arts" Section, Spring 1990.

The Clarion

citiquilts A Show of Diversity Paula Nadelstern Consider this: New Yorkers wrapped up in the fabric of city life who choose quiltmaking to translate skills and personality into visual expression. Women and men who connect to the materials and methods of quiltmaking with passion. Artists who together create an array of unique and deliberate personal responses, and a group response that includes both common threads and contradictory notions. All things considered, a disparate group of folk, yet they all embrace the diversity of their city and the techniques and materials of their quiltmaking. A Is;ew York quiltmaker can be making quilts on the block where he or she grew up,or can trace the journey to this juncture through a series of significant stops elsewhere. Maybe the quiltmaker has roots miles to the west of the Hudson River, or perhaps is heir to a rich cultural legacy passed down in faraway places. Now a New,--, York neighborhood serves as a point of reference, as home. Consider the quiltmaker's city space, high in the sky or at garden level. Some city quilts are made in tiny fifth-floor walk-up apartments; others are created in spacious five-story houses. Some v.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; panoramas end in grid-like window guards and brick walls whil others expand into miles of cityscape. Some front doors are watched by doormen, and some are decorated with graffiti. New York quilters walk out their doors into a plethora of variety, slipping into the stream of traffic and people, fitting into the flow of energy and offering their own. They enter the sidewalk mazes,walk past the clutter of street vendors and a parade of eclectic fashion, pass by the tiniest of stores and the grandest emporiums, partake of street festivals, fine cultural events, and matchless institutions. They open up the gifts ofthe city;they believe in its treasures and accept its faults. They learn to filter out the dissonance that triggers frustrated responses and instead turn it to their creative advantage. They learn to rely on their peripheral vision and resilience, a sense of humor and serendipity. They are immersed in an ethnic multitude of color, texture, language, and smells; they respond to the glamor and the garbage. And then they go home â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and make quilts. CITIQUILTS celebrates the considerable talents of an array of New York City quiltmakers and the imagination and artistry that is nurtured in urban spaces. This composite exhibit of quilts, photos, and text is scheduled for The Great American Quilt Festival 3. A sampling is offered here of the lively quality of variety that CITIQUILTS captures through its focus on the diversity of urban lifestyles, people, and living spaces, and the harmony of unity in their chosen art.

PROFILE: Karen Felicity Berkenfeld Hometown: Emporium, Pennsylvania New York Neighborhood: Upper West Side, Manhattan Karen Berkenfeld shares a roomy apartment in an eclectic West Side neighborhood as well as a restored nineteenth-century farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband Steve and dogfriend Lasca. The apartment is a comfortable blend of antique furnishings and collections, with one whole room reserved as studio space for Karen. Organization and accessibility are the keynotes here,from the L-shaped work area with storage underneath to the foamcore on the walls for tacking up works in progress, fragments of inspiration, and reminders to do all the things that one is always forgetting to do. Two sets of floor-to-ceiling shelves reveal an assortment of inspiring fabrics, and books are close at hand to stimulate creativity. An elegant pair of mannequin hands reach out from a pile of fabric, beckoning the quilter to work. Karen has used her workspace to mix the inherent opportunities that quilting offers with an exploration of diverse and exciting techniques, including printing on fabric with wood and linoleum cuts; the results are an exciting combination of representational images, color, pattern, and texture. She notes that being a quiltrnaker in New York City is both stimulating and reinforcing."A good day in the city can be a tonic for a bad day in the studio, and conversely, when the city seems cold and unfriendly, my studio offers me comfort, shelter, and solitude'

E712 PROFILE: Michael Cummings Hometown: Los Angeles, California New York Neighborhood: Hamilton Heights, Manhattan Although Michael Cummings began his New York life as an apartment dweller, for the last nine years he has made his quilts and his home in uptown Manhattan in an 1886 Dutch Queen Anne-style house that he is slowly restoring. He approaches his home with the same aesthetic tendencies that are displayed in his work: a propensity for collage, a commitment to documenting the diversity of his time, and a sense of whimsy. Collections of modem art, African sculpture, and Victorian bric-a-brac mingle with his own bold wall hangings, creating a vivacious mĂŠlange of color and image that welcomes involvement. His sewing machine, backed by a formal fireplace and mantel, occupies center stage in the drawing room of the house. Michael sews by the light of a chandelier, sitting on an elegant upholstered chair in the lacecurtained room. Upstairs, he has a workroom for the storage of the accumulations of fabric that become his palette. After moving to New York, Michael discovered a concentration of creative men and women of color, and his community has been intrinsic in shaping his art and his life. He is committed to using his art to tell a story, addressing events and issues that affect all people of color. These personal narratives are shaped from a spectrum of vivid visual images and rooted in African and African-American cultures.

Spring 1991

PROFILE: Paula Nadelstem Hometown: The Bronx, New York New York Neighborhood: Van Cortland Park, The Bronx

Paula Nadelstem makes quilts on the block where she grew up. Her twobedroom, ninth-floor apartment has the most northern exposure available within the city proper, and her neighborhood prides itself on its sense of community and cooperative spirit. The quiltmalcing spaces in her apartment are catch-as-catch-can. Paula muses that her nonexistent long-distance viewing space has shaped the direction of her kaleidoscopic work,causing her to rely on intricate detail and inherent symmetry;often she does not witness the full impact of her work until it is hanging on the photographer's wall. Her husband and daughter share the living room with the ironing board and snips of fabric and the kitchen table with a forty-year-old portable sewing machine. Fabrics exploit any available space â&#x20AC;&#x201D; under the bed, in the living room credenza,tucked into an elaborate Indian treasure chest on the window sill. A sliver of a closet is packed full with see-through boxes crammed with more fabric sorted by color and with beads, threads, and other tools of the trade. At the beginning of a sewing frenzy Paula shuffles this reservoir of goodies on to the bed and begins sorting and shifting and puttering, inventing and uncovering her palette. Sometimes it is all put back at the end of the day ...and sometimes it isn't! 58

The Clarion

All CITIQUILTS photos: Gavin Ashworth

PROFILE: Robin Sdiwalb Hometown: Queens, New York New York Neighborhood: Brooklyn, New York Robin Schwalb and her audiophile husband Steve have recently created mutually satisfying living and studio space out of an eleventh-floor space in a converted office building. The block they live on is the transition point for two neighborhoods with contradictory qualities. The splendid awning and tasteful lobby of their building separates the just-yards-away bustling shabbiness of downtown Brooklyn from the upscale quiet grace of Brooklyn Heights, an area of elegant townhouses and new apartments. Although the view from their wall-to-wall windows ends smack in an office building(which just happens to be the New York City Board of Education) across the street, Robin's studio is sunny and airy, animated with the dynamic quality of creativity. Seemingly endless areas of open shelving delineate studio from living room and provide two-sided access to a remarkable fabric collection. Foamcore-covered walls become a playground for new ideas and a vantage point for works in progress. Huge worktables overflow with all the accouterments that a busy mind supplies. Robin is happiest with collage projects put together from a variety of found materials, finding quilted visual solutions to the design and technical problems presented, making magic with her imaginative patterns, doing whatever she needs to do to get the effect she wants! Spring 1991

G7M

A Collector's Guide to

COVERLETS by Martha Leversuch The field of American woven coverlet collecting has not received as much attention as quilt collecting in recent times. Museum exhibitions devoted solely to woven coverlets have been few, and, even in the 1980s, a time of rapidly escalating prices for many parts of the antiques market, prices for coverlets stayed more or less even. So,one might think, who cares anyway about those overly ornate blue and white flowered things! But not so fast! That type of coverlet â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a Jacquard fancy weave â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is only one piece of the story, and you may be missing one of the treats of collecting Americana. Let us look at the broader picture. Surviving dated examples tell us that 100% wool and wool and cotton or linen coverlets were woven from about 1775 to 1850 in this country. In blue and white, often with additions of red and other colors created from plants, berries, and barks, they provide viewers with some of the same symmetrical visual appeal as quilts, yet their wonderful softness can personalize a room at prices often far below those of antique quilts. The best-known varieties of coverlets are overshot, summerwinter, block doublecloth, blankets, and Jacquard fancy weaves. Knowledge of a few concepts concerning household textile production makes coverlet history easier to grasp and is important for the would-be collector. Through the eighteenth century and even into the nineteenth, a large part of a rural housewife's time was spent in the production of household textiles. The fiber of choice was most often linen, with some wool. Linen was 60

easier to cultivate in northern climates, and, until the introduction of the cotton gin about 1790, cotton was expensive and difficult to spin into a fiber strong enough for clothing and bedding. Examination of probate inventories of the time shows that textiles were valued highly in relation to other objects in a home because of the labor-intensive nature of their production. From the cultivation of flax plants for linen thread and raising sheep for wool to the weaving of the cloth, every step of home-made textiles required long hours of work. Home looms were simple, rarely having more than four harnesses, which enabled the weaving of plain weave or basic twills and overshot weaves. The width of the loom allowed the housewife to weave cloth from 24 to 36 inches wide. All the textiles used by the family were made on the same loom. For bedding, yardage two or three times the length of the bed would be woven, then cut in half or thirds and the lengths stitched together side by side. Period coverlets, no matter what their weave, almost always have one or more seams. When creating warm bedcovers, the housewife was faced with a dilemma. An all-linen cover was not warm enough. Wool possessed great insulating qualities but was scarce and expensive. A textile that optimized use of linen or cotton thread, which was more plentiful and strong but possessed limited insulation value, with the least amount of wool for warmth would be ideal, and the overshot coverlet filled this need. The term "overshot" is used to describe the wool wefts or fillers

shooting over a plain woven cotton or linen base. This design used less wool than weaving it in the over one/under one of plain weave. The period of greatest production for this type of coverlet was from about 1790 through 1850. (Figure 1) Today, overshot coverlets are fairly plentiful on the market. Most are made of dark blue wool and cream-colored cotton. Rust, olive green, gold, bluegray, pink and dark brown may also be found in coverlet wools. Occasionally overshot coverlets made with rust- or blue-dyed cotton backgrounds rather than the more common cream or natural color can be found. The ubiquitous dark blue from the indigo plant was the most colorfast, and therefore most common, color, and most housewives had an indigo pot out in the yard. Because chamber lye or urine was the agent most used to set the dye, the professional dyer was a welcome addition to most communities.' Madder, imported from South America, and cochineal, an insect shell, produced red, rust, and pink; fustic and quercitron yielded yellow. In the 1790s, with the invention of the cotton gin, cotton production became less costly and machine-spun cotton yarn more plentiful as well as less expensive. Cotton began to take the place of linen for most woven goods, including the background "tabby" of overshot coverlets. An overshot coverlet with a cotton base generally dates after 1790. The only way to be really sure whether a coverlet is cotton or linen is to look at the fibers under a microThe Clarion

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Overshot Coverlet Weaver unknown; northeastern United States;1790-1850;cotton or linen and wool;91 x 75". Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gift ofCyril!. Nelson in memory ofhis grandparents Guerdon Stearns and Elinor Irwin Holden.

scope.(A fairly low-powered one will do, such as those found in junior chemistry sets.) Under magnification, linen fibers look like bamboo, and cotton has a twisted appearance. Should you care about the fiber? If you want to establish the fact that your Spring 1991

textile is authentic — that it is "of the period" — you become a detective trying to tie the piece to a date, a place, and, if possible, even a maker. Knowing general periods of production and some fiber identification techniques will assist you in your detective work —

and in knowing that what you are buying is what you are told it is. The earliest overshot coverlets were from New England and Long Island, then from upper and western New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,and the midAtlantic states of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. As colonization moved westward, so did painters, weavers, dyers, potters, furniture makers, and members of other trades. In most cases, textiles produced in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee are somewhat later, and those from Iowa and west date from the mid-nineteenth century or later. Weaving also moved from eastern to midwestem Canada in roughly the same period as in the United States. Although the effects of the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution sent most textile production to the factories after the middle of the nineteenth century, overshot coverlets continued to be woven into the twentieth century in rural areas and in the deep South. To further confuse dating attempts, there was a craft revival in the first quarter of the twentieth century in weaving as well as in quilts. Throughout the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries trained weavers immigrated to the United States from the industrial centers of Europe. Into New England and New York came weavers from the British Isles, England, Ireland, and Scotland; the latter, besides being known for their plaid woolens, had a tradition of weaving ingrain carpeting. To Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic states came weavers of German descent, many of whom had been trained as linen weavers. We also welcomed weavers from France and Scandinavia. The immigrants brought the latest styles and patterns from Europe, worked initially for established weavers, then generally set out on their own. Although these foreign-trained weavers made overshot coverlets, much of their output was produced on more complex looms containing eight or 61

more shafts. Such looms were necessary to create geometric doublecloth, twill variations, and floral Jacquard weaves. Although the myth of itinerant weavers who traversed the countryside weaving cloth and coverlets has flourished, the physical size and complexity of the multi-harness looms used in the early 1800s makes this hypothesis doubtful. It is more likely that weavers set out with a book of patterns and took orders for coverlets. Housewives in many cases supplied the homespun and dyed wool. The weavers, thus supplied with raw materials, went back to their shops and completed their commissions. What did they weave for their clients? From some known dated examples, weavers produced a popular type of coverlet called block doublecloth from about 1810 to 1840. (Figure 2) This reversible coverlet is woven oftwo planes of cloth, one usually indigo blue wool and the other natural cotton; by pinching the fabric on a large solid area of block doublecloth you will be able to separate the two layers of cloth. The crossing ofthe planes ofcloth yields the geometric patterns known as snowball and rose. Many of these coverlets have stylized Pine Tree borders around three sides of the two-panel textiles (textile widths remained narrow). Occasionally, the weaver introduced a third color, often red or blue-gray. Even the simplest of these patterns required a loom of eight or more harnesses. Many of the patterns for these coverlets are based on eighteenth-century German linen patterns, but executed in wool and cotton. They may have been woven by German-trained weavers; when German-trained weavers introduced a third color into these coverlets, it tended to be in weft or filler bands running across the width of the textile. Scottish weavers occasionally added red warp and weft bands to their block doublecloth coverlets, thus creating a plaid effect.2 Blue and white versions of block doublecloth not based on linen patterns were also produced by weavers 62

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Block Doublecloth Coverlet Weaver unknown;northeastern United States;c. 1830;cotton and wool;77x73". Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory ofSusan B. Ernst.

in New York and eastern Canada. The summer-winter coverlet was another popular, though short-lived type. (Figure 3) The term "summer-winter" is used both to refer to the dark and light sides found on such coverlets and to the practice described in folklore of house-

wives making beds to show the dark side of their coverlets in the winter and the light side in the summer. The origin of summer-winter coverlets is still something of a mystery to historians. This coverlet was first seen around 1810 and had all but disappeared by 1835. As The Clarion

Figure 3

Summer-Winter Weave Coverlet Weaver unknown;northeastern United States;1800-1835;cotton and wool;74 x 89". Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory of Susan B. Ernst.

a coverlet style, it is unique to North America. Its construction is something like that of the overshot coverlet, using cotton filler to bind the wool in place. However, in the summer-winter coverlet, the wool wefts adhere to an over three/under one pattern, creating geoSpring 1991

metric block patterns and giving it its distinguishing characteristic.'In a light area, for example, the cotton forms what looks like a web over the darker wool, somewhat resembling the webbing on a cantaloupe. The wool areas look like layered bricks. Summer-

winter coverlets required looms of at least six harnesses, putting them out of the realm of the housewife weaver for the most part. If coverlets are underappreciated with respect to other textiles such as quilts or samplers, blankets occupy the same lowly position in the coverlet world, yet they include a variety of wonderful textiles that would enhance a collection. Although wool was expensive, housewives could weave plainweave blankets on a simple loom at home; like coverlets, blankets are usually two panels wide and made from handspun and dyed wools. Also like coverlets, their colors are those obtainable from the natural dyes available at the time,and many blankets are plaid or striped. Some have self fringe on one end. Professional weavers also wove a large number of blankets, but these tend to be twill variation weaves and are more likely to have required multiharness looms. A twill weave is easy to spot â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the line of weave is diagonal â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and a good example is blue jean denim. The twill weaving process also has the effect of making the warp color appear darker or the weft appear more dominant. In denim, for example, the outside blue is much darker than the inside because the warp yams are blue and the weft yarns white. If woven in plain weave,both sides of the fabric would be the same mixture of blue and white; in twill, the outside appears dark and the reverse appears light. Twill variations are created by changing the direction of the twill and the results can be quite beautiful. One pattern, Point Twill, creates concentric diamonds on the surface of the blanket (Figure 4); another twill surface has vertical stripes on one side and horizontal on the reverse. The weaver may also vary the colors used in warp and weft to create plaids and areas of twill weave across the surface. One such example is referred to by weavers as Twill Diaper. (Figure 5)Many ofthe patterns created, like the block doublecloth, are based on 63

linen patterns and so may have been woven by weavers of German heritage. Fancy-weave coverlets — the ones we used to refer to by the term "Jacquard" — were woven in this country from before 1820 through the nation's centennial. (Figure 6) Fancy-weave coverlets dating before the introduction of the Jacquard head in the late 1820s have been found, telling us they were woven on drawlooms, cylinder looms, or barrel looms, which we know were once used in this country. Raising and lowering warp threads as the shuttle containing the filler or weft is thrown across the loom creates the pattern on the surface of a textile, and multiple-harness looms allow the weaver to lift different sets of warp threads with each throw of the shuttle but limits pattern choices to geometric designs. On looms like the drawloom; individual warp threads could be lifted, thus allowing the weaver to create swirling curves and floral patterns. Drawlooms, however, were cumbersome and required an assistant as well as great skill to create the patterns. Once a pattern was set up, changing to another was a difficult and time-consuming process. The introduction of mechanisms such as the Jacquard head made it possible to "program" the pulling of the loom's individual warp threads and greatly simplify the procedure. The development of the Jacquard head revolutionized the weaving industry. With a set of cards much like computer keypunch cards controlling the movement of warp threads, a complete coverlet could be woven quickly and without an assistant. Less weaving skill was needed, and pattern changes could be made by attaching a new set of punched cards to the head mechanism. Finished personalized coverlets could be created in several days — complete with the owner's name, the date, the town or county, the weaver's name, and, in some cases, patriotic or moralistic sayings. (Figure 7) Weavers began advertising the latest patterns from Europe and their ability 64

Point Twill Coverlet Weaver unknown;possibly Pennsylvania; c. 1830; wool;88 x 82". Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gift ofCyril I. Nelson in memory ofhis grandparents Guerdon Stearns and Elinor Irwin Holden.

to create any pattern desired, although in actual fact it appears thatfew actually had the skill to create their own patterns on the Jacquard cards. Other than personalizing clients' coverlets, they most likely purchased or bartered patterns, so one should not assume the name of

a weaver merely on the basis of having seen the same pattern in the body or border of a signed coverlet. Also, if a coverlet bears only one name,it is most likely the name of the client, not the weaver. Very little research has been done to determine the names of pattern The Clarion

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Twill Diaper Variation Coverlet Weaver unknown;northeastern United States; 1800-1850; wool;74 x72". Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory ofSusan B. Ernst.

manufacturers or the regional appeal of certain patterns. Two basic weave structures were used by weavers creating fancy-weave coverlets. One is doublecloth, just like that used to make the block doublecloth coverlets. Doublecloth is constructed of Spring 1991

a light and a dark plane of cloth whose wefts interlace to create the pattern.' The other weave structure, commonly called Beiderwand, has light areas interlaced with a darker reverse, giving a ribbed appearance to the light areas. Coverlets of this type come from Penn-

sylvania-German communities or from weavers of German heritage in the Midwest. Often they feature the use of wool bands of colors other than blue and white or red and white in the filling or weft, another device commonly used by German weavers. The colors found in fancy-weave coverlets of the first half of the nineteenth century are the same as those found in overshot coverlets — the "natural" colors. By the second half of the century, the vivid hues of the new aniline dyes had become popular, and the colors in coverlets changed to reflect the fashion of the times. The Industrial Revolution changed the entire structure of the weaving industry. Factories with rooms full of power looms were established to manufacture countless varieties of cloth for public consumption. These looms could weave an entire bed-width of cloth and could be tended by people who had no weaver's training. Thus, large volumes of clothing fabrics, carpeting, bedding, and other household textiles could be produced inexpensively for the expanding middle class. The onset of the Civil War also expanded demand for large quantities of bedding and clothing. Weavers went to war in large numbers, the dwindling supply of raw materials went to the support of the war effort, and both factors contributed to the demise of professional coverlet weaving. By midcentury, fancy-weave coverlets were almost entirely factory produced in one piece on wide looms. The personalization of the corner blocks disappeared as the "manufacture" of coverlets began, although occasionally the name of the manufacturing company was included. Popularity of woven coverlets died in all but the most rural areas, to be resurrected briefly during the short period of colonial revival at the time of the centennial in 1876. Coverlets produced then often have large circular central motifs decorated with symbols ofindependence,such as Independence Hall, the American eagle, or patriotic 65

66 The Clarion

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mottos. They are made in one piece, and many use aniline-dyed yarns. This brief overview of the types of coverlets you are likely to find only provides a starting point for the beginning collector. As with collecting in general, you must get to know your topic before you buy. Educate yourself. Read;included here is a brief bibliography of books on coverlets or books containing good coverlet sections. Visit antique shows, flea markets, and exhibitions. Talk to dealers; look at prices. The Great American Quilt Festival 3 is an excellent place to see quality American coverlets and to have the opportunity to talk to knowledgeable dealers. In looking at coverlets, look for quality. Some aspects of quality are subjective, but many are not. First, hold the coverlet up to the light and look at its condition â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the stains, holes, moth damage,repairs, and wear â&#x20AC;&#x201D; then decide what you can and cannot live with. Be realistic, however; these textiles could be as much as 200 years old and there is bound to be some wear. Watch out for irresponsible laundering; wool and cotton shrink differently so pieces having a puckered or overly fuzzy appearance should be avoided. Check to see if the dimensions ofthe coverlet seem right for nineteenth-century beds. Be suspicious if you find a 92" x 106" made in 1830. Queen- and king-sized beds were uncommon! Most coverlets show wear along the top edge, Figure 6 where the owners pulled it up to cover themselves or to make the bed. If the coverlet seems short,the wear along the Fancy Weave Coverlet top could have been cut off and the Weaver unknown;possibly Ohio;c. 1840; cotton and wool;89x76". Museum ofAmerican Folk piece rehemmed or taped. Many covArt, gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory of Susan B. Ernst. erlets have tape bindings; this is not necessarily bad. Normally the sides ofa woven coverlet finish themselves nicely. If the weaver made the decision to extend the weft yams to form a fibers in the body of coverlet. A loupe are, then it is more likely that the textile fringe, the fringe may have worn away (what people in the garment industry is early;if they are two or three ply, you and a previous owner could have covcall a linen tester or a pick glass) is a are probably looking at a late nineered the ragged edges with tape or cut useful tool for examining the ply and teenth- or twentieth-century piece. In the piece down. twist of yams in a coverlet, and it is the early part of the nineteenth century, One good way to tell if the coverlet is important to determine whether the cotton was machine-spun single ply, a period piece is to look closely at the weft or filler yams are single ply. Ifthey then hand plied by the weaver, usually

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pattern should match at the center seam. Inspect the body of the fabric to see if the pattern is a mirror image where it is supposed to be and repeated where the repeats should occur. Look at the figural portions and see if there are any big weaving mistakes. Notice if the border and body form a good-looking corner block. Above all, ask questions of the dealer or owner. When you are ready to buy, think about the research you have done, then go through a"good, better, best" analysis. Determine criteria in your own mind for what constitutes a "good" coverlet of the type you prefer, a "better" coverlet, and, finally, decide which traits are exhibited by the "best" coverlets in your category of choice. Experienced collectors always recommend purchasing one high-quality object rather than several low- or mediumquality pieces. Thus, my closing suggestion is buy as much quality in a coverlet as you can afford!

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EMILY DOWNING SEPT .1 0

NOTES 1. Judith Reiter Weissman and Wendy Lavitt, Labors of Love, New York, Alfred A. Knopf,Inc., 1987, P. 24. 2. The source ofthis information is my own research and information supplied by Rabbit Goody, a textile historian and teacher. 3. Carol Strickler, American Woven Coverlets, Loveland, Colorado, Interweave Press Inc., 1987, p. 80. 4. Strickler, p. 87.

Figure 7

Fancy Weave Coverlet James Alexander, weaver; made for Emily Downing; Orange County, New York; 1822; cotton and wool; 74 x 93". Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory of Susan B. Ernst.

into two-ply warp yarns but occasionally into three-ply warp yarns. Eighteenth-century weavers seldom plied their weft yarns; it was felt that singleply wool weft or filler yarns were enough to create a sturdy textile and additional plies were wasteful. This Spring 1991

practice had changed by the twentieth century, when most yarns — warp or weft — were at least double ply. No matter what style of coverlet you prefer, look for pieces with a nicely integrated design. The border should be in harmony with the body, and the

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Robert Bishop, William Secord, and Judith Reiter Weissman,The KnopfCollectors' Guide to American Antiques: Quilts, Coverlets, Rugs & Samplers. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. Mildred Davison and Crista Mayer-Thurman,Coverlets; A Handbook on the Collection of Woven Coverlets at the Art Institute ofChicago. Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 1973. Carlton L. Stafford and Robert Bishop,America's Quilts and Coverlets. New York, E. P. Dutton, 1980. Carol Strickler, American Woven Coverlets. Loveland, Colorado, Interweave Press, 1987. Janice Tauer Wass, Weaver's Choice:Patterns in American Coverlets. Springfield, Illinois, Illinois State Museum, 1988. Judith Reiter Weissman and Wendy Lavin, Labors of Love;America's Textiles and Needlework 1650-1930. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1987. Handwoven Magazine, Published five times/year by Interweave Press, Inc., 201 East Fourth Street, Loveland, CO 80537. 67

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ING TODAY'S QUILTERS

For information about joining the American Quilter's Society, stop by our booth or write:

.0 68

American Quilter's Society

1-800-626-5420

P.0. Box 3290 • Dept CLA • Paducah, KY 42002-3290

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ADVANCE NOTICE THE ANTIQUES DEALERS'ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. PRESENTS A

ANTIQUES SHOW TTEDHUDSON VALLEY

ENEFIT HISTORIC OFFERING I 8TH &

H CENTURY AMERICAN FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, FOLK ART AND OTHER RELATED DECORATIVE ARTS

FRIDAY, JULY 19TH, 1991 12-8:00 PM SATURDAY, JULY 20TH, 1991 12-8:00 PM ^. SUNDAY, JULY 21sT, 1991 12-5:00 PM WESTCHESTER COUNTY CENTER, WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK FEATURING DAILY LECTURES AND A CURATORIAL TOUR OF THE SHOW. FOR FURTHER SHOW INFORMATION PLEASE CALL(203)259-3844.

HILL JOHN C. INDIAN ART AMERICAN AMERICAN FOLK ART

THE GREY SINIRREL ok 06 Ai% 4 • • W If•

6990 E. MAIN ST.,Second Floor SCOTTSDALE,AZ 85251 (602)946-2910 Zuni 011a,circa 1880, 14 dia.

A Gallery Celebrating the Spirit of American Craftsmanship for Collectors of all types of Folk Art. Wonderful Windsors Fine Country and Painted Furniture Fabulous Folk Art, Fracturs and Faux Finishes Graphic Quilts Serious Scherenschnitte Tantalizing Tole Hand Thrown Pottery and Other Beguiling American examples of wit, whimsey ik ingenuity The Grey Squirrel is located upstairs at Five Main St.(Rte 45)in the Village of New Preston, CT. Close to Lake Waramaug, outstanding inns, Restaurants, Antique shops, Bookstores and Historic Litchfield. Thursday—Monday: Eleven to Five•203-868-9750 6,1

ETtM -

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee Ralph Esmerian President Frances Sirota Martinson, Esq. Executive Vice President and Chairman, Executive Committee Lucy C. Danziger Executive Vice President Bonnie Strauss Vice President Peter M. Ciccone Treasurer Mrs. Dixon Wecter Secretary Karen D. Cohen Judith A. Jedlicka Joan M. Johnson Theodore L. Kesselman Susan Klein

Cynthia V.A. Schaffner George E Shaskan, Jr.

Maureen Taylor Robert N. Wilson

Members Florence Brody Daniel Cowin David L. Davies Barbara Johnson, Esq. William I. Leffler George H. Meyer, Esq. Cyril I. Nelson William Schneck Kathryn Steinberg

Honorary Trustee Eva Feld 'Hustees Emeriti Adele Earnest Cordelia Hamilton Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr. Margery G. Kahn Alice M. Kaplan Jean Lipman

DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE Judith A. Jedlicka Theodore L. Kesselman Co-Chairmen Lewis Alpaugh Hoechst Celanese Corporation Gordon Bowman Corporate Creative Programs

Frank Brenner Hartmarx Corporation John Mack Carter Good Housekeeping Jerry Kaplan Better Homes and Gardens Allan Kaufman Long Distance North

Francine Lynch Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Rachel Newman Country Living Thomas'Roland Country Home Barbara Wright New York Telephone

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Frances Sirota Martinson, Esq. Mrs. Dixon Wecter Co-Chairmen Paul Anbinder William Arnett Frank & June Barsalona Mary Black Susan Blumstein Judi Boisson Gray Boone Robert & Katherine Booth Barbara & Edwin Braman Milton Brechner Raymond Brousseau Edward J. Brown Charles Burden Racy Cate Margaret Cavigga Joyce Cowin Richard & Peggy Danziger Marian DeWitt Davida Deutsch Charlotte Dinger Raymond & Susan Egan Margot Paul Ernst Helaine & Burton Fendelman Howard Fertig 70

Ted & Joanne Foulk Jacqueline Fowler Ken & Brenda Fritz Ronald Gard Robert S. Gelbard Dr. Kurt A. Gitter Merle & Barbara Glick Baron & Ellin Gordon Howard M. Graff Bonnie Grossman Michael & Julie Hall Lewis I. Haber Elaine Heifetz Terry Heled Josef & Vera Jelinek Eloise Julius Isobel & Harvey Kahn Allen Katz Mark Kennedy Arthur & Sybil Kern William Ketchum Susan Kraus Wendy Lavitt Mimi Livingston Marilyn Lubetkin Robert & Betty Marcus Paul Martinson Michael & Marilyn Mennello

Steven Michaan Alan Moss Kathleen S. Nester Helen Neufeld Henry Niemann Paul Oppenheimer Ann Frederick & William Oppenhimer Dr. Burton W.Pearl Patricia Penn Dorothy & Leo Rabkin Harriet Polier Robbins Charles & Jan Rosenak Joseph J. Rosenberg Le Rowell Randy Siegel Sibyl Simon Susan Simon Ann Marie Slaughter Sanford L. Smith R. Scudder Smith Richard Solar Hume Steyer Jane Supino Edward Tishelman Tony & Anne Vanderwarker Clune Walsh John Weeden G. Marc Whitehead The Clarion

LOUISVILLE CELEBRATES THE AMERICAN QUILT The Kentucky Quilt Project invites you to take part in a multi-event celebration in honor of the 20th anniversary of the 1971 Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition

ABSTRACT DESIGN IN AMERICAN QUILTS NOVEMBER 1991 - MARCH 1992 Experience the original landmark exhibition that has contributed to the awareness and significance of the American quilt as artform and social document. It will be reinstalled in its entirety at the Museum of History and Science.

FEBRUARY - MARCH 1992 ABSTRACT DESIGN IN AMERICAN QUILTS The Whitney exhibition at the Museum of History and Science.

A PLAIN AESTHETIC - LANCASTER AMISH QUILTS For the first time, Jonathan Holstein selects from his premier collection those quilts which best embody the essential qualities of Amish quilt masterpieces. At the J.B. Speed Art Museum.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESENCE IN AMERICAN QUILTS Distinguished scholar Cuesta Benberry curates a seminal exhibition of Afro-American quilts. At the Museum of History and Science.

AN EXHIBITION OF WORK BY TWO AFRICAN-AMERICAN QUILTMAKERS Contemporary artists exhibit their work. At the Louisville Visual Art Association.

A MULTI-VENUE EXHIBITION OF THE BEST OF CONTEMPORARY QUILTS WORLD-WIDE At the Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery and Zephyr Gallery.

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND FEBRUARY 6,7,AND 8,1992 TWO IMPORTANT CONFERENCES THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND THE AMERICAN QUILT Will assess the African-American involvement with the American quilt in all its manifestations, both pre- and post-civil war.

TOWARD ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL QUILT BIBLIOGRAPHY Will focus on a method of establishing a major scholarly resource available to quilt scholars and historians world-wide.

GALA DINNER featuring an address by Jonathan Holstein entitled The Cover Story: Before and After the Whitney. Lectures by well known quilt historians, collectors and artists. Gallery walks and receptions at each exhibition.

For further information contact: Shelly Zegart, c/o Kentucky Quilt Project 727 W. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202

Spring 1991

!In CURRENT MAJOR DONORS

The Museum of American Folk Art greatly appreciates the generous support of the following friends: $20,000 and above Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Asahi Shimbun Ben & Jerry's Homemade,Inc. Better Homes & Gardens Judi Boisson Marilyn & Milton Brechner Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Chinon, Ltd. Estate of Thomas M.Conway Country Home The Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation Inc. Mt & Mrs. Frederick M.Danziger Mrs. Eva Feld Estate of Morris Feld Ford Motor Company Foundation Krikor The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation William Randolph Hearst Foundation James River Corporation Kodansha, Ltd. Jean & Howard Lipman Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund Steven Michaan National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts Paine Webber Group Inc. Philip Morris Companies Dorothy & Leo Rabkin Restaurant Associates Industries, Inc. Schlumberger Foundation Samuel Schwartz Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation, Inc. Two Lincoln Square Associates United States Information Agency United Technologies Corporation Mrs. Dixon Wecter The Xerox Foundation $10,000-$19,999 ABSOLUT Vodka Estate of Mary Allis Amiens Foundation Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. Lily Cates Mr. & Mrs. Peter Cohen Country Living Culbro Corporation David L. Davies Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Deutsch Adele Earnest Fairfield Processing Corporation/Poly-fil速 Daniel and Jessie Lie Farber Walter and Josephine Ford Fund Taiji Harada Hartmarx Corporation Barbara Johnson, Esq. Joan and Victor L. Johnson 72

Shirley and Theodore L. Kesselman Masco Corporation George H. Meyer Kathleen S. Nester New York Telephone Sallie Mae/Student Loan Marketing Association Mrs. Gertrude Schweitzer and Family Mr. & Mrs. George F. Shaskan, Jr. Peter and Linda Solomon Foundation Springs Industries Mr. & Mrs. Robert Steinberg Barbara and Thomas W. Strauss Fund Wood Magazine $4,000-$9,999 The Bernhill Fund Mr. & Mrs. Martin Brody The David and Dorothy Carpenter Foundation Tracy Roy & Barbara Wahl Cate Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Mr. & Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Mr. & Mrs. Richard Danziger Jacqueline Fowler Richard Goodyear Hoechst Celanese Corporation Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund Lore Kann Foundation Mt & Mrs. Robert Klein Wendy & Mel Lavitt George H. Meyer The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. Annette Reed Arthur Ross Foundation The Salomon Foundation S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer Family Foundation The William P. and Gertrude Schweitzer Foundation, Inc. Sotheby's Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Tananbaum John Weeden The H.W. Wilson Foundation Robert N. & Anne Wright Wilson Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation $2,000-$3,999 American Folk Art Society Estate of Abraham P. Bersohn The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Brown Capital Cities/ABC The Coach Dairy Goat Farm Mr. & Mrs. Joseph E Cullman 3rd Exxon Corporation Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Einbender Colonel Alexander W. Gentlemen Cordelia Hamilton Justus Heijmans Foundation Johnson & Johnson Manufacturers Hanover Trust Marsh & McLennan Companies Christopher and Linda Mayer McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Metropolitan Life Foundation Montefiore Medical Center Morgan Stanley & Co.,Incorporated The New York Times Company Foundation, Inc. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation Betsey Schaeffer Robert T. & Cynthia V.A. Schaffner Mr. & Mrs. Derek V. Schuster Mr. & Mrs. Ronald K. Shelp Joel & Susan Simon Mr. & Mrs. Austin Super Mr. & Mrs. Richard T. Taylor Time Warner Inc. Alice Yelen & Kurt A. Gitter $1,000-$1,999 American Savings Bank William Arnett The Bachmann Foundation Didi & David Barrett Mr. & Mrs. Frank Barsalona Michael Belknap Adele Bishop Edward Vermont Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Bloomingdale's Bozell Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Braman Mabel H. Brandon Ian G.M. & Marian M. Brownlie Morris B. and Edith S. Cartin Family Foundation Edward Lee Cave CBS Inc. Liz Claiborne Foundation Conde Nast Publications Inc. Consolidated Edison Company of New York The Cowles Charitable Trust Crane Co. Susan Cullman Mr. 8z Mrs. Donald DeWitt Gerald & Marie DiManno The Marion and Ben Duffy Foundation Echo Foundation Ellin F. Ente Margot & John Ernst Virginia S. Esmerian Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Ferguson Evelyn W. Frank Janey Fire & John Kalymnios Louis R. and Nettie Fisher Foundation M. Anthony Fisher Susan & Eugene Flamm The Flower Service Emanuel Gerard The Howard Gilman Foundation Selma & Sam Goldwitz Mr. & Mrs. Baron Gordon Renee Graubert Terry & Simca Heled Alice & Ronald Hoffman Mr. & Mrs. David S. Howe IBM Corporation The Clarion

THE SILVERMAN COLLECTION' A Unique Collection of Textile Art Prints

"Navajo Germantown Saddle Blanket" circa 1890 JS-16

An original signed silkscreen print by Jack Silverman. 41" x 30" ed. of 100 Arches paper $950. "Great collections are often the result of one man's inspiration and determination. Such is the collection of nineteenth century textiles brought together by artist-collector Jack Silverman. Silverman's goal has been simple: to assemble the finest examples of early Pueblo and Navajo textiles that he could find. By traveling throughout the country searching for and carefully buying and trading textiles, Silverman has developed a collection that is stunningly impressive. Accompanying the weavings are serigraphs created by Silverman. Employing a multiple layer technique of silkscreening, he achieves the illusion of woven texture. Through his serigraphs, Silverman seeks to document and disseminate the beauty of his collection." Robert Breunig, Chief Curator, The Heard Museum

Posters also available. Archival posters measure 24" x 36" and are produced on acid-free museum quality paper and printed with the finest fade-resistant inks. $35. MC/Visa

The Silverman Collection

Catalogue $3. @ 1990 Jack Silverman

PO Box 2610, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2610

505/982-6722

FAX: 505/982-6755 73

CURRENT MAJOR DONORS

Inn on the Alameda Mr. & Mrs. Yee Roy Jear Judith A. Jedlicka Dr. and Mrs. J.E. Jelinek Isobel & Harvey Kahn Kallir, Philips, Ross, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Kaplan Lee & Ed Kogan Kyowa Hakim U.S.A. Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Lauder Estate of Mary B. Ledwith William & Susan Leffler Dorothy & John Levy James & Frances Lieu Macmillan, Inc. R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. Robert & Betty Marcus Foundation, Inc. Marstrand Foundation C.F. Martin IV Helen R. Mayer & Harold C. Mayer Foundation Marjorie W. McConnell Meryl & Robert Meltzer Brian & Pam McIver Michael & Marilyn Mennello The Mitsui USA Foundation Benson Motechin, C.P.A., P.C. National Westminster Bank USA New York Marriott Marquis Mattie Lou O'Kelley Paul Oppenheimer Random House, Inc. Cathy Rasmussen Ann-Marie Reilly Paige Rense Marguerite Riordan Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Joanna S. Rose Willa & Joseph Rosenberg Mr. & Mrs. Jon Rotenstreich Schlaifer Nance Foundation Mr. & Mrs. William Schneck Mr. & Mrs. Richard Sears Randy Siegel Rev. & Mrs. Alfred R. Shands Ill Mrs. Vera W. Simmons Philip & Mildred Simon Mrs. A. Simone Mr. & Mrs. Sanford L. Smith Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Solar Mr. & Mrs. Elie Soussa Sterling Drug Inc. Phyllis & Irving Tepper Anne D. Utescher H. van Ameringen Foundation Tony & Anne Vanderwarker Elizabeth & Irwin Warren Wayside Furniture Weil, Gotshal & Manges Foundation Wertheim Schroder & Co. Mr. & Mrs. John H. Winkler

$500-$999 Helen & Paul Anbinder Louis Bachman Baileys Original Irish Cream Liquer Arthur and Mary Barrett David C. Batten Roger S. Berlind Best Health Soda Robert & Katherine Booth Michael 0. Braun Iris Carmel Classic Coffee Systems Limited Edward & Nancy Coplon Judy Angelo Cowen Edgar M. Cullman, Jr. Allan L. Daniel The Dammann Fund, Inc. Days Inn â&#x20AC;&#x201D; New York City Andre & Sarah de Coizart Mr. & Mrs. James DeSilva, Jr. Deborah Dunn Entenmann's Richard C. & Susan B. Ernst Foundation Ross N. & Glady A. Faires Helaine & Burton Fendelman Mr. & Mrs. Howard Fertig Timothy C. Forbes Estelle E. Friedman Ronald Gard General Foods Mt & Mrs. William L. Gladstone Irene and Bob Goodkind Great Performances Caterers Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Greenberg Grey Advertising, Inc. Connie Guglielmo The Charles U. Harris Living Trust Denison H. Hatch Hedderson Lumber Yard Stephen Hill Holiday Inn of Auburn Mr. & Mrs. Albert L. Hunecke, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas C. Israel Guy Johnson Cathy M. Kaplan Mary Kettaneh Barbara Klinger Janet Langlois Peter M. Lehrer Mr. & Mrs. Richard M.Livingston Herrnine Mariaux Michael T. Martin Robin & William Mayer Mr. & Mrs. D. Eric McKechnie Gertrude Meister Gael Mendelsohn Pierson K. Miller New York Hilton and Towers at Rockefeller Plaza Mt & Mrs. Arthur O'Day

Geraldine M. Parker Dr. Burton W. Pearl Mr. & Mrs. Stanley M. Riker Betty Ring Mr. & Mrs. David Ritter Trevor C. Roberts Richard & Carmen Rogers Charles & Jan Rosenak Richard Sabino Mary Frances Saunders Sheraton Inn, Norwich Skidmore Owings & Merrill Smith Gallery Smithwick Dillon Amy Sommer Jerry I. Speyer David F. Stein Robert C. & Patricia A. Stempel Texaco Philanthropic Foundation, Inc. Edward I. Tishelman David & Jane Walentas Marco P. Walker Washburn Gallery Anne G. Wesson G. Marc Whitehead Mt & Mrs. John R. Young Marcia & John Zweig The Museum is grateful to the Co. Chairwomen of its Special Events Committee for the significant support received through the Museum's major fund raising events chaired by them. Karen D. Cohen Cynthia V.A. Schaffner The Museum thanks the following donors for their recent gifts to the Permanent Collection, Library and Education Collection: Estate of Murrell Baker Dr. Robert Bishop Lelyn Branin Ralph Esmerian Daniel and Jessie Lie Farber Valerie Fisher Jeri Hamilton Burnice Healen Susan Kelly Family of Emma K. Lentz Alan and Marilyn Loesberg Alan Milton Cyril Nelson Mt and Mrs. Charles Rosenak Estate of Gertrude Schweitzer Gale and Bill Simmons Anne C. Williams Jonathan Williams

The Clarion

• •

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HOWARD FINSTER R.A. MILLER

Americana & Folk Art Sunday, April 28 - 10:30 a.m. Austinburg, Ohio 11 / 4 mile south of 1-90 on Route 45 DeFina Auctions is honored to present this important collection of over 80 works by Silvio P. Zoratti. Our first sale of 10 works in October, 1990 received an overwhelmingly positive response. This personal collection from the Zoratti home should prove to be a landmark sale for the artist.

J.B. MURRY MOSE T. NELLIE MAE ROWE And Other Outsider Artists

John Denton 20 Main St., P.O. Box 429 • Hiawossee, GA 30546 (404) 896-4863• Fax (404) 896-1212

RENAISSANCE CRUISES'

i141/-

7 (10z1-1 7("TVIZ3OOIC

AUG. 1 9 TO SEPT. 3, 1991

Silvio P Zoratti - born 1896 Silvio P Zoratti was born in Italy and came to the United States in 1919. He began carving in wood and stone in 1958, following his retirement from the Nickle Plate Railroad and continued until 1986 when his failing eyesight forced him to end his "hobby': His prolific body of work reflects his love of nature, his deep sense of patriotism, and his unending interest in the surrounding American culture. He has lived most of his life in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Zoratti Video $15 - $17.50 postage paid Auction Video $15 - $17.50 postage paid Catalogues Available Preview April 25 & 26 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Absentee Bids Accepted - No Buyers Premium

Leisure Tour Designs 2400 Kettner Blvd. #50 San Diego, California 92101 619-234-1142(Collect) FAx 619-236-8413

Terms: Cash or Checks on Approval Out of State Bank Letter of Credit

DeFina Auctions (216) 275-6674 1591 STATE ROUTE 45 AUSTINBUF1G, OHIO 44010 MICHAEL L. DeFINA — AUCTIONEER — LICENSED & BONDED

Spring 1991

D. J. Malczewski ARTIST

..111r3k

Work & Play

Suite 223 1900 Empire Blvd. Webster, NY 14580 (716) 671-1258

Take the chill off those `Winter 'Blues & you'll soon be in the Pink/ biscover the Spirit of America through the eyes of artist 5ANDI WICKM5i-IAM Rt5NICK

WICKERSHAM AMMICAN COUNTRY 5TORt ANTIQUF.5 * FOLK ART 3 E. Washington Street Middleburg, Virginia 22117 ("PD. tox 958, turceliville, VA 22132) (703) 687-3740 76

94ours: 10-6 /Delay

Sandi Wickersham 'Resnick Acrylic on canvas 30" x 36"

—

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BOOK REVIEWS

AT HOME:THE AMERICAN FAMILY 1750-1870 By Elizabeth Donaghy Garrett Published by Harry N. Abrams,Inc. New York, NY,1990 304 pages, 101 color and 94 black and white photographs $49.50 hardcover In this splendid new book the author gives us a clear sense of what it must have been like to visit, live in, or manage a home in this country between 1750 and 1870. She gives some attention to the streets and towns that surrounded these early homes, but her primary concern is with what actually went on inside them and how it must have felt to be in them, whether for a fancy-dress evening or for a quiet chat with a friend. Ms.Garrett tells us thatfor earlier Americans, entertaining was serious business: "The care ofdiners was an art...and all five senses were indulged:' Like the hosts and hostesses she describes, she, too,"indulges our five senses: bringing us into the lives and homes of our eighteenth- and nineteenth-century countrymen and women so completely that we experience them almost as if we were present. Through carefully chosen paintings and quotations from letters, diaries, and other contemporary accounts, she lets us enter into life as it must have looked and felt and, in some cases, even tasted or smelled, as in one woman's description of the shop next door:"We have a windsor chairmaker. .who I think, by the smell, is boiling varnish this day:' The rooms and domestic decor are described in revealing detail, as are the public and private lives lived in them. We are told, for example, that the handing around of tea and refreshments in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, "mirrored the rigid formality of the seating furniture and its placement: an assessment documented by the comment of a British guest who noted "the company were seated according to the American fashion [along the perimeter of the room]as if they were pinned to the wall!' Beginning with the first chapter and the houses' exteriors, we are led through the front door and visit, in turn, the various rooms of the home. As we move through 78

jobs they carried out, all of which were to look as though they had been accomplished with a minimum of fuss. We note also women's pleasure at having even a little time to themselves: "the blessing to be quite alone, without any body great or small!' The result of careful and extensive research, At Home illuminates domestic and family life more brightly than have other, earlier works on similar subjects. In its attention, through pictures and text, to the telling details of daily life — the thoughts and feelings, the colors, the smells — it delights us both visually and intellectually. —Judith Reiter Weissman

them — the parlor, dining room, kitchen, and bed chambers — we come to understand the nature of the relationship between the people who lived in the homes and the objects in them. Discussing the parlor in the 1830s and the rising importance of the sofa, the author suggests that women and sofas have a symbolic connection: "Perhaps because of the softened comfort it provided or because women and textiles had long been affiliated, the sofa was also something of a metaphor for the female sphere of influence, and it was often seated upon this prized possession that the lady of the house chose to be portrayed:' Comments like this one make the book more than just an attractive volume about the home (though it is certainly that); they make it rich with insights on the cultural significance of material objects. Having led us through the rooms of the house, Ms.Garrett continues her discussion of the lives of the people who lived in them in the following chapters that include, among others,"The Daily Dog-Trot Routine of Domestic Duties" and "It Shall Be Procured Agreeable to Your Liking': Husband and Wife as Consumers:' In these chapters, we are shown what everyday life was like, particularly for women, whose sphere was the home and who had sole responsibility for its smooth functioning. We are made aware ofthe multiple pressures on women, including the many different

Judith Reiter Weissman is Associate Professor of Art and Coordinator of the Master's & Ph.D. Programs in Folk Art Studies at New York University.

AMERICAN QUILTS AND COVERLETS IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART By Amelia Peck 264 pages, 231 illustrations, 95 in full color Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dutton Studio Books, New York, NY 1990 $50.00 hardcover Scholars, quilt collectors, quilt makers, weavers, and general textile enthusiasts have reason to rejoice with the publication of American Quilts and Coverlets, a comprehensive survey ofthe 119 bedcoverings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Written by Amelia Peck, an assistant curator in the Museum's department of decorative arts, the handsome volume is part of the Metropolitan's efforts to make information aboutits permanent collection more available to a broad audience. The volume has special significance as, because of their large size, fragile nature, and the Museum's lack of focus on utilitarian objects, these textiles are not often seen. The book, however, was published in conjunction with a small exhibition containing a selection of fifteen examples from the collection. Although the Metropolitan's collection is The Clarion

BOOK REVIEWS

relatively small, it is encyclopedic in scope and contains quilt and coverlet highlights from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, ranging from whole cloth, pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, and stencilled quilts, woven coverlets and bed rugs to Marseilles quilts and Bolton counterpanes. The collection is diverse, but it is to be hoped that in the future African-American, Native American, and strong contemporary examples will be included if the collection is expanded. The museum's textile collection was started in 1910, and important additions were made throughout the succeeding decades. Most of the textiles added prior to World War II were acquired as gifts and bequests and were valued for the historical significance of their makers or owners rather than for their own aesthetic importance. Beginning in 1940, and continuing through the 1960s and 1970s, quilts were reevaluated and came to be recognized as graphic art. Although many of the Metropolitan's quilts and coverlets were acquired as significant objects of material culture and serve as important social documents, several are truly da7.71ing graphically and may be viewed as works of art. The book itselfis very well organized and easy to use. In Section One, which highlights seventy-one bedcovers from the collection, Peck discusses fiber and weave types, pattern and fabric sources (where known), textile technology, and construction techniques. She also places the textiles within their social and cultural context, offers genealogical and other information about each piece's maker or owner, and comments on the aesthetic quality of many ofthe covers. Each entry is accompanied by a full-page color plate, and there is a smattering of other visual documentation, such as an occasional reproduction of a portrait or family record related to the maker of the textile. Section Ttvo catalogs the museum's complete collection through a black-and-white photograph of each piece and data such as accession number, maker's name (when known), where and when a work was created, dimensions, fiber type, provenance, and publication reference. An excellent Spring 1991

bibliography and index is also included. Peck has been meticulous in recording known information, and her discussion of the works done or owned by, for example, Phebe Warner, the Ruddick family, and Elizabeth Van Home Clarkson is superb. However, even in a prominent collection one faces the universal problem in textile research: many of the bedcovers were acquired with meager or virtually no accompanying documentation. When there is little information, Peck generally uses available scholarship to make astute judgments, but she occasionally seems overly enthusiastic in her theorizing. She is careful to qualify her remarks, but the lack of factual documentation makes some of her hypotheses tenuous, and, over time, such unsupported assertions may lead to potential misinformation because readers (and sometimes scholars) tend to become careless and accept theories with no supporting evidence as facts. Examples of these weaker statements include "because of the sprightly hearts that flank the flowers along the border, it is tempting to call this[Oak Leaf Quilt no. 14] a bridal quilt" and "the black ground in our Touching Star of Lemoyne [no. 21] may signify that it was a mourning quilt since black is an unusual color for a bedcover':

It is also surprising that Peck does not discuss the Amish aesthetic sensibility so ably presented by Elizabeth Warren in an article in Antiques Magazine — namely, the marvelous counterpoint of the rather rigid abstract geometric piecing(considered acceptable by the restrictive conservative Ordnung) with the freer, more florid and naturalistic forms permitted in the quilting. Another small quibble relates to two entries (numbers 40 and 41) in the first section, which the catalog identifies as from "England or United States" and "Probably English" in origin and also several Bolton counterpanes and Marseilles quilts that are similarly of English origin. It is easy to understand their importance in the story of American bedcoverings, but there is no explanation of why these English examples are included in a book entitled American Quilts and Coverlets. In spite of these minor flaws, this major volume is a visual delight and a must for the bookshelves of anyone interested in Ameri— Lee Kogan can textiles. Lee Kogan is Senior Research Fellow and Assistant Director of the Folk Art Institute at the Museum of American Folk Art. She is a Fellow of the Folk Art Institute and completing the Museum's graduate program in Folk Art Studies at New York University.

HO FOR CALIFORNIA: PIONEER WOMEN AND THEIR QUILTS Published by E.P. Dutton, New York, 1990 152 pages, black and white and color photographs $22.50 paperback

Amish Quilt: Pinwheel pattern; maker unknown;Indiana;1930; wool and cotton;84 x 71"; The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, Friends ofthe American Wing Fund, 1988.

The California Heritage Quilt project, similar in concept to other state documentation projects that use a series of quilt search days to register quilts and to encourage quilt owners to tell about the quilts in their possession, provided a unique opportunity to learn about the lives of women during America's westward expansion. Ho for California is the excellent result of those documentation efforts. In the introductory essay, Gloria Ricci 79

BOOK REVIEWS

Lothrop, a professor of history at California State Polytechnic University, declares that too often the contribution of women to our history has been neglected, perpetuating the belief that "men make history: women simply are history:' Conventional research is not conducive to the study of social history because so much is shrouded in the ephemera of a culture. Quilts, however, as a tangible handcraft, offer a particularly fertile field for the researcher intent on documenting social history and the role of women in past and present society. Quilts recorded by the Project came from forty-six states in the union, five foreign countries, and the territories of Oklahoma, Dakota, and Hawaii. Thirty-seven percent were made in California and less than two percent were of unknown origin. The oldest quilt documented dates from before 1800; the oldest California-made quilt dated from 1850. The quilts featured in this book(101 of them) are a small percentage of the 3,300 quilts recorded during the project and provide tantalizing glimpses of the past. The unifying theme of this Project's documentation is the American dream of "manifest destiny" and the endless opportunities offered by westward expansion and settlement. We read about quilts made by wives and mothers, school teachers, homesteaders, entrepreneurs, and teenagers, all setting out by various means of transportation to realize a new life in California. We learn of their anxieties, their joys, their sense of family and community, their desire to create beauty under trying circumstances, and the sheer grit and determination it took in the early days to create a home in a new environment. Wonderful stories abound. A beautiful Baltimore Album quilt found in a garage sale in 1937, purchased for $5.00, and then washed in a machine without impairment is every quilt lover's dream. Even without knowledge ofhow this quilt came to California, there is enough information for researchers to make it possible to identify its makers and geographic origin through its signatures and the fact that it memorializes a popular Baltimore army hero. Another quilt chronicles the trip west. Known by various pattern names, the quilt 80

is identified as Road to California. The piecing was begun by a fifteen-year-old girl while traveling for nearly seven months in a wagon train bound for California. Three generations (herself, her mother, and her grandmother) as well as various aunts and friends are represented in the quilt. More than thirty names are inked onto the fabric and "Ho for California" is written on one block. It was completed twenty years after it was begun and given to the daughter of that teenager: it has resided ever since with the family and serves as a source of family history to the current owner. Voyage by ship from the east coast around Cape Horn to California was common in the mid-1800s and the trip could take between one hundred and three hundred days. In 1860, Mary Elizabeth Simpson of Brunswick, Maine, took such a voyage, as well as an inland trip, to visit her brother in Stockton, California. She carried with her a quilt filled with family signatures, each name in the center ofa star. In Stockton, she met her future husband, who had emigrated from Vermont during the gold rush, and ended a Californian herself. She had a career late in the 1800s as a suffragette of some prominence, becoming the treasurer of the California State Woman's Suffrage Educational Association. Many times migration west was due to economic need, and the dust bowl days of the 1930s as well as the Great Depression, brought a flood of new arrivals to California. Stories are told of making quilts from tobacco pouches, flour sacks, and old clothes. One quilter, Essie King Wofford Heffington, was her own source of tobacco pouches beause she took snuff, chewed tobacco regularly, and smoked a pipe "only when it was inconvenient to spit'? Another enterprising quilter during depression days, Myrtle Dunn from Stockton, began a business of quilt kits with the help of her family. One quilt, the last remaining example of this business, remains with the family as a reminder of the work done to keep the family solvent. The poverty of the family was so real that, even though this quilt won an award at the California State Fair in the early 1930s, the maker was unable to be present at the Fair because

she did not have the money for the attendance fee. There are also portrayed many one-of-akind quilts commemorating events, portraying early Hollywood movie stars, cowboys, Lindberg's airplane, and the "Ham and Eggs" quilt. The latter quilt was made in response to the Townsend Movement, which promised every unemployed person over fifty and all people over sixty a monthly pension, thus assuring that everyone could afford to eat ham and eggs! There are over 850 colorfully embroidered names ofindividuals,stores, and merchants on this quilt, and it is presumed to be a fundraiser. It was designed and assembled by Eva Truxillo and Irene Brewster in 1939. A time line, intended to enable the reader to place the quilts into historical perspective, precedes the stories of the quilts and their makers. Modes of travel to California are represented by symbols, which are then repeated under each quilt photograph throughout the text. Colors illustrate specific time periods, which are broken down into important statistical information. Other symbols are used to indicate whether the quilt was made in California or originated outside the state. Although the concept of using a time line and symbols to encapsulate this information is excellent, the format presents some confusion and difficulty in its use as the reader must frequently refer back to the time line pages and continuity may be lost. Chronological arrangement of visuals and text lends cohesion to diverse patterns ofthe quilts. A careful reading ofthe visuals for design, colors and textile prints reinforces our knowledge of how to date quilts. Notes referring the reader to source material appear at the end of the book. The addition of this quilt project book to the bookshelf is most welcome and, in conjunction with publications from other state projects, is most valuable in providing some historical perspective on quiltmaking in America. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Phyllis Tepper Phyllis Tepper is Registrar of the Folk Art Institute of the Museum of American Folk Art, a Fellow of the Folk Art Institute, Director of the New York Quilt Project, and sometime quiltmaker. The Clarion

ork Qt11/1.

Friendship's Offering Crazy Quilt Odyssey Baltimore Beauties I (Vol.II Avail. March) Judith Montano Susan McKelvey $19.95 (Avail. April) Elly Sienkiewicz $15.95 HC A.NoriarueusHING $23.95 SC; $34.95 HC 4%.$3 UPS $1 EA ADD.L. 1 5021 Bum Ito.#1-C3-1,MARTINEZ CA 94553.CATALOG 800-284-1114.415-370-9600.CA ADD 7/ Baltimore Album Quilts Crazy Quilt Handbook Judith Montano Elly Sienkiewicz $15.95 $23.95 SC; $34.95 HC

ANTIQUES SHOWS

* 44* Si UNDERCOVER

March 22-24, HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT The 18th Annual Connecticut Spring Antiques Show

underfoot

.00 Sz, 'TURA,

„co

The State Armory, Broad Street and Capitol Avenue Benefit: The Haddam Historical Society, Inc.

May 18th, WOODBRIDGE,CONNECTICUT Center Field, Off Route 114 Benefit: The Amity-Woodbridge Historical Society, Inc.

June 15th, REDDING CENTER, CONNECTICUT Lonetown Farm, Route 107 Benefit: The Redding Historical Society, Inc.

July 13th, DORSET, VERMONT Village Green, Off Route 30 Benefit: The Dorset Library Association, Inc.

July 20th, COVENTRY, CONNECTICUT

All Types Of Rugs, Quilts, Folk Art Architectural Objects and Antiques

Nathan Hale Homestead, South Street Benefit: The Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, Inc.

August 3rd, GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT Village Green, Main and Hubbard Streets Benefit: The Historical Society of Glastonbury,Inc.

August 17th, NEW LONDON,CONNECTICUT Connecticut College Campus, Mohegan Avenue

12 Church St., Lambertville, NJ 609-397-0044 Thurs. & Fri. 12-5 Sat. & Sun. 11-5:30

Benefit: The Lyman Allyn Art Museum

August 24th, WETHERS1FIELD, CONNECTICUT The Solomon Welles House Grounds, Hartford Ave. Benefit: The Wethersfield Historical Society, Inc.

LINDA TURNER 45 LARCHWOOD RD., SO. PORTLAND, ME 04106 (207)767-3967

Spring 1991

Chance or Appointment — Always Buying! 8I

OUR INCREASED MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1990

We wish to thank the following members for their increased membership contributions and for their expression of confidence in the Museum:

Mrs. Mary L. Emory, Haverford, PA Les & Sue Fox, Midland Park, NJ Patricia L. Hammeke, Omaha, NE Mrs. David Milton, Middleburg, VA

Ann Frederick Oppenhimer, Richmond, VA Jeff Pressman, Del Mat CA Elizabeth Trace,Peekskill, NY

OUR GROWING MEMBERSHIP SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1990

The Museum trustees and staff extend a special welcome to these new members: Mrs. M.M.S. Adams, Remsenburg, NY Gerald W. Adelmann, Chicago, IL Gregory Albanis, Teaneck, NJ Beth W. Allen, Houston, TX Oscar Appel, Cedar Grove, NJ Gerald R. Arnett, Louisville, KY Florence D. Arrow, Los Angeles, CA Patricia Authier, Appleton, WI John Baeder, Nashville, TN Anna M. Ball, Glendale, CA Mt & Mrs. Howard Ballenzweig, New York, NY John & Diane Balsley, Brown Deer, WI Rose Barell, Floral Park, NY Helen Ban; New York, NY Lynn Barrett, Doylestown,PA Theresa Barron, New York, NY Lynn Bassini, Brooklyn, NY Robert Baum,Tenafly, NJ Tim Belk, Charlotte, NC Sybilann Benitz, Be(fountain, Ont. Canada Joy Bennett, Bethesda, MD Thomas L. Bennett, Rosemont, PA Merry D. Benson, Rochester Hills, MI Charles Bernier, Atlanta, GA Carol G. Bidstrup, Scottsdale, AZ Betsy Blachly, New York, NY Jane Black, Newtown,PA Peter R. Blum, Hartford, CT Richard L. Boger, Atlanta, GA Joyce Robin Borden, Philadelphia, PA Lois Bordner, Old Lyme,CT Gary Borman, Los Angeles, CA Charles Boyce, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Lenhard Brechner, New York, NY Ms. Kathleen Brigham, Washington, CT Ralph Brill, Cold Springs, NY 82

Susan Gardner Brooks, Brooklyn, NY Bob Brown, Alexandria, VA Louise D. Brown, Tarrytown, NY Cathy Bruce, Minneapolis, MN Mary Yvonne Bryant, New York, NY Stella Buchan, West Brookfield, MA Deborah Bush, New York, NY Emeline Caldwell, Seattle, WA Pat Canon, De Kalb, IL Colette Cantoni, New York, NY Lewis Cantor, Salinas, CA Theresa Caracappa, North Bergen, NJ Robert Cargo Gallery,lbscaloosa, AL Marjorie Carpenter, Fort Washington, PA Henry Carter, New York, NY Anthony M. Carvette, Greenwich, CT Tkacey Cave, New York, NY Nancy Jo Chambers,Chicago, IL Mrs. L.O. Chandler, Phillipston, MA N.L. Chandler, Burke, VA Audrey Chapman, Azusa, CA Barbara Chapman, Arlington, VA Stacy Cheriff, Hollywood, CA Eunice Childs, Berkeley, CA Minnie S. Clark, Freeport, IL Georgine Clarke, Northport, AL Pamela Cleaves, New York, NY Norma P. Closs, Kennett Square,PA Gerald Cohen, Tarrytown, NY Stephanie Cole, Rockport, MA Wendy Coleman, Chicago,IL Jill Collins, Reston, VA Ginger Connolly, Menlo Park, CA Carmen Cook, New York, NY Cathy J. Cooney, New Canaan, CT Doe Coover, Medford, MA Ms. Jo Cornwall, Te Puke, New Zealand Eleanor T. Coyne, Laughlintown, PA James Cramer, Keedysville, MD James E. Crowe, Jr., Chevy Chase, MD Sheila Cunningham, New York, NY

Norman A. Curdut, Wareham, MA Kathryn M. Curran, Bayport, NY Robert B. Currey, Atlanta, GA Roberta S. Cutler, Duxbury, MA Pamela Dalton, Ghent, NY Deborah Davidson, Jericho, NY Rhea Dawson, Rolling Meadows,IL Sheila De LaRosa, Norris, TN Patricia DeLong, Fairbanks, AK Suzanne Diamond, Atherton, CA Stephen G. Dickerman, New York, NY Penny Dionne, W. Willington, CT Karima Dipp, Milano, Italy Donna Disman, Dusseldorf, Germany Sherry Doane, New York, NY Lucy B. Dorick, Vienna, VA Mark Dunbar, New York, NY Janice K. Dunham, Rainbow Lakes, NJ Liza DuPee, Boulder, CO T.A. Eastland, Old Lyme,CT Martin Edelston, New York, NY Dorothy L. Edmonds, Naples, FL Nina Edwards, New York, NY Nancy Ennis, New Hope,PA Mrs. David W. Enoch,Colorado Springs, CO Nancy Farber, Chicago, IL Mrs. David Ferrari, S. Natick, MA Marilyn Fisher, New York, NY Robert I. Fisher, Kings Point, NY Fort Wayne Museum of Fort Wayne,IN Janet R. Fox, Providence, RI Charlotte Frank, New York, NY Nancy A. Frederick, Potomac, MD Ronald J. Fritz, Williamsburg, MI Mike & Jodie Gallagher, Houston, TX Patricia A. Gallagher, New York, NY Barbara Borowitz Garland, Wilmington, DE Robert & Trinidad Gilmore, Burnt Hills, NY The Clarion

G7M

OUR GROWING MEMBERSHIP

Martin Glickman, Brooklyn, NY Karolyn Goetz, Edison, NJ Carolyn Goodling, Springfield, VA Nancy Graham, Bayside, NY Dr. Doris L. Gray, New York, NY Karen M. Green,Ipswich, MA Ms. L.L. Green, Brooklyn, NY C. Greer, Amherst, NH George M. Greider, East Haddam,CT Francine Grillo, Yonkers, NY Julia Guernsey, Milwaukee, WI Anton Haardt, Montgomery, AL Judy Haas, Basalt, CO Dr Charles D. Haas, Miami Beach, FL Helen Hadjiyannakis, New York, NY Christine Hansen, Old Mystic, CT Fredda Hardy, New York, NY Donna Harkness, Milton, MA Dori Hawks, Bellaire, TX Bruce & Lynn Heckman, Ossining, NY Russ M. Herman, New Orleans, LA Irwin Hersch, Chappaqua, NY Joyce Hinson, Charleston, SC Mrs. Rosemary Hitt, Jackson, MS Roberta 0. Hodes, New York, NY James Hofmeister, Buffalo, NY Jennifer Houser Hoglund, New York, NY John Hood, New York, NY Shirley A. Horn, New York, NY Elizabeth C. Howe, Short Hills, NJ Linda B. Iger, New York, NY Ann M. Jacob, Marietta, GA Yvette Kim Jacob, New York, NY Ellen Jacobs, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Walter Jezewski, Palos Verdes Estates, CA R. Jorgensen Antiques, Wells, ME Mary Joy, New York, NY Raymond Jurado, New York, NY Patsy Kahn, New York, NY Helene Kahn, San Diego, CA Eugene W. Kalkin, Morristown, NJ Martin Kaltman, Long Island City, NY Patricia Kaplan, Santa Barbara, CA Frederick M. Karch, Princeton, NJ Lilyan Katz, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Henry W. Kaufman, Deerfield, IL Nancy W. Keeler, Greenwich, CT Lewis Keister, Panorama City, CA Joan D. Kemble, Glastonbury, CT Peter & Diane Kendall, Dresher, PA Jeffrey Kesper, Piscataway, NJ Lagren & Sally Kiest, Denver, CO Rakhel Biller Klinger, Victoria, B.C. Canada Daniel Kluchinslci, Franklin Park, NJ Klaus Knab, Portland, OR Cynthia Koeze, Landenberg, PA Helen Kogan,Zionsville, IN Spring 1991

Virginia C. Kramer, Easton, PA Mr. & Mrs. John Krasnoff, Union, NJ Mrs. George Kuhn, Germantown,OH Louise Lacy, New Canaan, CT Susan Lakin, Walton, NY Ann Lane, Clarendon Hills, IL Dr. Lila Lasky, Accord, NY Penelope Lave, Los Altos, CA Byron Leeds, Mendham, NJ Edmund A. LeFevre, Jr., New York, NY Stephanie Ross Leggio, Tarrytown, NY Burnell Lemoine, Marksville, LA Audrey Lentz, Winter Park, FL Carol R. Levy, Cresskill, NJ Sandra Lewis, Houston, TX Susan Liebling, Manchester, ME Maria Lindell, Helsinki, Finland Duff Lindsay, South Vienna, OH Susan Lipsett, Jonesboro, GA Shelley Lipson, Ridgewood, NJ Robin Litman, New York, NY Phyllis Loeb, Rye, NY Lynne Loshbaugh, Santa Fe, NM Mary Ann Luciano, New York, NY Eric D. Lund, Gobles, MI Joye Lundgren-Manna, San Diego, CA David MacGregor, Washington, DC Chris A. Mactuner, Annville, PA Robert & Judy Mackey, Houston,TX Amy S. Mann,Port Washington, NY Helen Mann, New York, NY Kristin Mannion, New York, NY Kenneth Maracek, Alfred, NY Scott C. Marden, New York, NY Michael T. Martin, New York, NY Dee Maynard, Bedminster, NJ Mona McCalmon,Temple City, CA Martha McCartney, Petersburg, WV Jan McClellan, Evanston, IL Linda McGuire, Isle La Motte, VT Brian McIver, New York, NY Ann D. Merritt, Kingston, NJ Ruth Messinger, New York, NY James Meyer, Huntingdon Valley, PA David E. Miller Jr, Marietta, GA Steven Millington, Dorchester, MA Carol Millsom, Toinkins Cove, NY Rena Millar, Houston, TX Jean A. Munch,Brooklyn, NY Beverly Mirecki, Newport Beach, CA Joan Mohr, New York, NY Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Library, Montreal, Canada Sandy Mooney, Flushing, MI Barbara Morris, Clarksburg, WV Richard S. Muchnick, New York, NY Anne Firth Murray, Palo Alto, CA Amy Myers, Shaker Hts., OH Stella Nadel, Syosset, NY .

Ruth & Robert Newman, Brooklyn, NY Paulette B. Nolan, Falmouth, MA Dorothy R. O'Beirne, West New York, NJ Patricia C. O'Brien, New York, NY Ms. Lorraine Occhiogrosso, West Islip, NY Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Okajima, Forest Hills, NY Alice & David Olsan, East Branch, NY Sally Ordway, New York, NY Beverly Osgood, Ridgefield, CT Loren S. Ostrow, Los Angeles,CA Gale Page, New York, NY Lehore Palmer, Wilton, CT Aracelia Pearson-Brok, New York, NY Rachel T. Pellman, Lancaster, PA William Peltier, New Orleans, LA Abby Pelton, Rye, NY Amy Perlin, New York, NY R.L. Pfaimebecker, Lancaster, PA Dana R. Pickup, Fillmore, NY Richard Polins, Dallas, TX Suzanne Ponsot, Fresh Meadows, NY Laurie Poole, New York, NY Nancy Poreda, Shrewsbury, MA Elizabeth H. Porter, Queens Village, NY Ms. G. Julie Powell, Merion,PA Eugenie A. Propp, New York, NY Deborah Purse, Bayport, NY Robert Kinnaman & Brian Ramaekers, Wainscott, NY Lynda A. Read, Cambridge, WI William W. Reese, New York, NY Robert A. Reeves, Atlanta, GA Matthew Riechers, Mt. Kisco, NY Sandra J. Rigsby, McHenry,FL Monty Roberts, New York, NY Richard & Carmen Rogers, Los Angeles, CA Margot Rooker, Sunland, CA Ms. Patricia Rowan, Yorktown Hts., NY Suzanne Rubin, New York, NY Sharilyn Ruckman, Seattle, WA Juliet W. Rundle, Pineville, WV Ernest Rustia, Greenwich,CT Jane Sadaka, New York, NY Michael Sanden, Peoria, IL Alice B. Sandler, New York, NY Noreen G. Saunders, Old Lyme,CT Bunny & Phil Savino, Freehold, NY William B. Schade, Albany, NY Dr. Douglas Schaefer, North Miami,FL Jay Schaff, Taos, NM Pamela Scheinman, Highland Park, NJ Susan Scherl, New York, NY Anne Schleider, Santa Fe, NM Mr. & Mrs. Philip C. Schwartz, Ridgewood, NJ Phyllis Arlow & Don Seeger, Great Neck, NY George W. Seitz, Red Hook, NY Nancy Shamban, New York, NY William Shearbum, St. Louis, MD 83

CAN

TRAD

American Crafts by Traditiona Folk Artists JOIN Us IN ... Washington D.C. February 9, 10, 11, 1991 and June 29, 30-July I, 1991 Sheraton Washington Hotel 2660 Woodley Road at Connecticut Avenue N.

Columbus, Ohio March I 6, 17, 18, 1991 Buckeye Building, Ohio State Fairgrounds Pre-registration and Information: P.O.Box 389 Carlisle, PA 17013(717) 249-9404 Call for Market Times•Open to the Trade Only

•• ••••

Heritage Markets

OUR GROWING MEMBERSHIP Colleen Hughes & Tony Sherman, Hastings, NY Betty E. Shirley, New York, NY Virginia Hayes Sibbison, South Westerlo, NY Linda Sideri, New York, NY Eleanor Sienkiewicz, Washington, DC I.M. Silvert, New York, NY Mrs. William Skellinger, Coeur D'Alene, ID Karen A. Skunta, Cleveland, OH Nancy Sloane, West Palm Beach,FL Deborah Slosser, New York, NY Hallie D. Smith, Richmond, VA Nancy R. Smith, Roca, NE Murray Smither, Dallas, TX Amy Sommer, New York, NY Barbara Spark, Los Angeles, CA Harry Edward Sparshott, Jr., Leesburg, VA Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Sperry, Incline Village, NV Dr. & Mrs. Norton Spritz, New York, NY Paige Elizabeth St. John, New York, NY Peter Stassi, Massapequa, NY Barbara Stenglien-Anderson, Brooklyn, NY Betsy May Stem, Scarsdale, NY Dora Stem, Hoboken, NJ Sydney Stem, Scarsdale, NY 84

S.M. Stevens, Montreal, Canada Valerie J. Stewart, New York, NY Cynthia Hecht Suna, New York, NY Akiko Takizawa, New York, NY Connie Tavel Management, Beverly Hills, CA Ronald Tauss, New York, NY Noel & Jean Thompson, New Vernon, NJ Leslie Tierstein, Rahway, NJ Grace Timberlake, Brooklyn, NY Peter Tishman, New York, NY Janet Tobias, New York, NY Wilson Todd, El Paso, TX Camille Tokerud, Jersey City, NJ Robert Torgny, Cupertino, CA Ramon S. Torrecilha, Madison, WI Susan A. Remblay, New York, NY Maro Tsagaris, Scarsdale, NY Lois M.'Ricker, No. Berwick, ME Mr. & Mrs. Thomas'Mt, New York, NY Urban Artware, Winston-Salem, NC Lisabeth W. Uribe, New York, NY Kris Vasser, Aptos, CA Carolyn Vogel, New York, NY

Cedomil Vuckovic, New York, NY Edward J. Wahl, Seattle, WA T.G. Walker III, Stuart, FL Herbert Wallerstein, Beverly Hills, CA Honore E. Walsh, New York, NY Charlotte & Jack Wasserman, Pound Ridge, NY Selma Wasserman, Westfield, NJ Judith B. Watson, Cleveland Hts., OH Lucy Weidman, New York, NY Iris Wendel, Atlantic Highlands, NJ Derita Coleman Williams, Memphis,TN Jane Williamson, Colchester, VT Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Winston, Bemville, PA Patrice Winter, Topanga, CA Mr. & Mrs. Budd Wolfsie, New Rochelle, NY Justine Yajko, Nyack, NY Diane Yale, Riverdale, NY Olga G. Yongue, Staten Island, NY Richard Zanard, Wilton, CT Mrs. Barbara Ziff, Narragansett, RI Mrs. Vilma G.Zuck, Wyckoff, NJ Maldonado Zully, New York, NY Meryl Zwanger, Fairlawn, NJ The Clarion

YestivaC Country Fantasies44/45" 100% Cotton

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Springs A Division of Springs Industries

Six Outsiders March 16- May 11, 1991

ANTIQUES WEEKEND

MAY 4 & 5, 1991

Randall Gallery

Admission $3.00 (500 oft with ad)

999 North 13th, St. Louis, MO 63106 (314) 231-4808

Hundreds of Dealers in Fine Antiques and Vintage Collectibles FREE PARKING

The nation's great new show of the 90's — coinciding with the opening of Brimfield, just 15 miles to the north. ABSOLUTELY OPEN — rain or shine — with most dealers under cover.

Stafford Springs Speedway Route 140, Stafford Springs, CT

Early Buying — Saturday 7AM — $20 No Pre-show Buying Among Exhibitors Will Be Permitted.

REVIVAL PROMOTIONS,INC. Post Office Box 388, Grafton, MA 01519 (508)839-9735 Don Mackey Shows,Inc. 86

Jon Serl Joe Salvatore Gregory Van Maanen James Watkinson Justin McCarthy Chelo Amezcua

Also featuring work by Howard Finster, Bessie Harvey, S.L. Jones, Raymond Coins and Mose Tolliver.

Unexpected Eloquence: The Art In American Folk Art

by Howard Rosa Howard Rose was an art dealer by profession, and developed a passionate interest in American folk art in the early 1960s. Concerned by the lack ofserious art criticism about the field,and disturbed by the attitude of condescension with which folk art is generally treated by fine art critics and connoisseurs, he wrote this book in the late 1970s. The first chapter, providing a general overview of some significant folk artists (Simon Rodia, Ammi Philips, Mary Anne Willson,among others),was published in Art in America magazine in 1981. Now, at last, Rose's complete work, with the addition of 21 black-and-white and 19 full color reproductions, is being published simultaneously with the exhibition of his and Raymond Saroff's folk art collection at the Edith C. Blum Art Institute of Bard College. "Written in an elegant, precise style, the work argues that when the standards of excellence and aesthetic purity associated with the fine arts are applied to folk art,the artistic validity of folk art becomes apparent. In the final chapter on the problems in folk art criticism, years of second-class,casual treatment are exposed and refuted in terms of the continuing vigor and independence of this distinctive aspect of the American art experience. Unexpected Eloquence is a welcome addition to the literature of serious art criticism." —Small Press (Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art) 160 pages (including inserts), 6 x 9", smyth-sewn, full-color cover $15.00 paper, 1-878352-01-6

Raymond Saroff, Publisher McPherson & Co., POB 1126, Kingston, NY 12401

MARKETPLACE AWARD-WINNING QUILT ARTIST & author available for commissions of unique contemporary quilts for home or corporate space. Paula Nadelstern, 98 Van Cortlandt Park South, Apt. 9-C, Bronx, N.Y. 10463, 212-796-0698

TOP QUALITY DECOYS AND FOLK ART: Please send $1.00 for current illustrated list of over 100 items in original paint. Everything is guaranteed to be as represented. Russ Goldberger, RJG Antiques, P.O. Box 2033, Hampton, NH 03842, 603-926-1770.

FANCY FINISHES—THADDEUS & JOSEFSDOTTER, INC. Glazing: Clouds—country graining—fantasy finishes—marbling—sponging, trompe I 'oeil, woodgraining, stenciling, gilding, leafing. Mark Maillaro (718-779-0555) & Eva Mizrakjian (212-496-0926); Studio: 2231 Broadway, New York, N.Y.

FOLK ART SANTAS: Completely designed and crafted by Jack Pachuta. Polychromed, handcast, sculptured wood composition from the original wood carving. Edition of 500. Brochure $2. Dealer inquiries invited. Bucks County Santa Co., P.O. Box 295A Yardley, PA 19067

BROWARD QUILT EXPO: Fort Lauderdale, Florida—November 1 & 2, 1991. Judged quilt competition, exhibits, merchants, workshops, lectures. Sponsored by East Sunrise, Southern Stars and West Broward Quilt Guilds. For information send SASE to PO Box 11881, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 33339

The McMinn County Living Heritage Museum Ninth Annual Quilt Show: One of the largest shows in the South, more than 300 antique and contemporary quilts displayed. Demonstrations, lectures, and workshops conducted by nationally acclaimed authorities. P.O. Box 889, Athens, TN 37303, 615745-0329

HOWARD FINSTER FOLK ART: Old paintings and cutouts as well as new paintings, woodcuts, mirrors, etc. Also other folk art of the South: Toliver, Perkins, Son Thomas, Miller. Reasonable prices. 404-565-8263. C. Singer, 3340 Harvest Way, Marietta, GA. 30062 PARK SLOPE FRAMING and GALLERY: Unique custom framing service and exhibition space. Innovative solutions using an extraordinary selection of framing materials. Extensive experience with textiles. Only acid-free materials used. Delivery available. All work guaranteed. By appointment only. 718-768-4883 QUILTERS' EXPRESS TO JAPAN: Tour #5: October 9-23, 1991. Learn about the World of Japanese Quiltmaking while experiencing the flavors of Japanese culture. For brochure, send a LSASE to Susan Faeder, 2 Charlton Street, Apt. 5A, New York, N.Y. 10014. HOME STUDY COURSE IN QUILTMAKING by Jeannie M. Spears. Complete encyclopedia of basic and advanced hand and machine quilting techniques. Ten challenging lessons with detailed instructions for 32 blocks. $21.50 from Oliver Press, Box 75277GA, St. Paul, MN 55127.

American Folk Art Swing Gecker

VISIONS, The Art of the Quilt, an international juried exhibition of today's extraordinary quilts, October 3, 1992 through January 3, 1993, San Diego. Quilt entry deadline: January 11, 1992. Write: Quilt San Diego, PO Box 26902, San Diego, CA 92196. Yvonne Porcella's Third Annual Quilt Symposium will be held April 1992. Send large SASE for information about symposium and Yvonne's books, A COLORFUL BOOK, PIECED CLOTHING, PIECED CLOTHING VARIATIONS. Porcella Studios, Dept. S92, 3619 Shoemake Avenue, Modesto, California 95351.

Appointment suggested 437,4

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WANTED: INFORMATION LEADING TO RECOVERY OF ANTIQUE WEATHERVANE. ITEM IS COPPER STEER, 19 x 32 x 2 INCHES. SUBSTANTIAL REWARD UPON RECOVERY. ALL INQUIRIES TO D. WYLOCK, 200 LAKE ROAD, TARRYTOWN, NY 10591, 914631-4581. STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATES seeking charter members nationwide. For brochure send SASE to P.O. Box 287, Salida, CA 95368 or call 916488-5660.

(212) 929-8769

226 West 21st Street New York, N. Y 10011

CLASSIFIED ADS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE CLARION RATES $95.00 per insertion. Box and phone numbers count as two words. Abbreviations and zip codes count as one word. Area codes must accompany phone numbers. Maximum is 40 words (including headline, address, etc.). DEADLINES December 15 for March 1 issue for June 1 issue March 25 for September 1 issue June 15 September 25 for December 1 issue PAYMENT Check or money order must accompany copy and be received prior to closing date. Make check payable to MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART, The Clarion Classified Ad Department, 61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023. NO PROOFS WILL BE FURNISHED FOR CLASSIFIED ADS NO PHONE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED

JAY JOHNSON America's Folk Heritage Gallery 1044 Madison Avenue,N.Y., N.Y. 10021

Tues.-Sun. 11-6 Closed Mon. 628-7280

RUBENS TELES

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JAY JOHNSON 'gq0UNTIOD=1 492 Piermont Avenue, Piermont, N.Y. 10968 (914)359-6216 Hours: Thurs.-Sun. 12-5

"Untitled" by Eddie Arning Crayon and pastel on paper 19"x 25"

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

America Hurrah American Primitive Gallery American Quiher's Society Ames Gallery of American Folk Art Antiques Dealer Assoc. of America Architectural Digest Joshua Baer & Company Karen Berkenfeld/Quiltmaker C & T Publishing Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery Cherishables Antiques Christie's Country Heritage Markets Country Living Magazine DeFina Auctions John Denton Double K Gallery Epstein/Powell Fairfield Processing Corp. Laura Fisher Forbes & 1Rimer Antiques Shows Gallery 10 Gasperi Gallery 88

10 11 68 26 69 39 15 38 81 13 6 18 84 23 75 75 35 33 77 2 81 9 29

Sidney Gecker American Folk Art 87 Giampietro Inside Front Cover Gilley's Gallery 31 Grass Roots Gallery 37 The Grey Squirrel 69 Anton Haardt 27 John C. Hill 69 Hirschl & Adler Folk Inside Back Cover Lynne Ingram 31 Martha Jackson 7 Ann Jacob America 34 Jay Johnson 88 Kelter-Malce 19 Leisure Tour Designs 75 Leon Loard Gallery 34 Main Street Antiques 33 D.J. Malczewski 76 Marketplace/Classified 87 Frank J. Miele 30 Steve Miller 1 Leslie Muth Gallery 22 Susan Parrish 20

J.E. Porcelli 20 Thomas C. Queen 22 The Quilt Gallery Ludy Strauss 17 Randall Gallery 86 Sandi Wickersham Resnick 76 Revival Promotions 86 Roger Ricco/Frank Maresca 3 Stella Rubin 27 John Keith Russell Antiques, Inc. Back Cover Raymond Saroff/Publisher 86 David Schorsch 24 The Silverman Collection 73 Springs Industries 85 Sweet Nellie 35 The Tartt Gallery 21 Undercover/Underfoot 81 Vicki & Bruce Waasdorp 30 David Wheatcroft 12 Eldred Wheeler of Houston 38 Wilton Historical Society 37 Thos. K. Woodard 4 Shelley Zegart Quilts 29 Shelley Zegart/Kentucky Quilt Project 71 The Clarion

Trapunto Turtle Quilt from our large selection of Quilts & Coverlets

Hirschl & Adler Folk 851 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10021 (212) 988-3655

SPRING :STREET,SOUTH :SALEM, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, 10590 ()14) 763-8144 • FAX:(914) 76:3-35'53 TLESDAY-SUND.XY 10:00-5:30