Amish Quilts 1880 to
1940
from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown
July 8 - September 10, 2000
Maker unknown
Broken Star (detail)
probably Holmes County, Ohio
cottons, 80 1/2 x 76 inches
circa 1930
Amish quilts possess a mystique
for today?s viewers because they are associated with a people who set
themselves apart from mainstream American society. The bold and colorful
pieced quilts made by Amish women during the classic period of Amish
quiltmaking--1880-1940--in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other settlement areas
are a unique body of work reflective of the shared spiritual values
of their fundamentalist communities, employing distinctive approaches
to abstract design and color usage. The harmonious patterns and colors
of these quilts mirror the concepts of simplicity, humility, devotion,
and community that underlie the Amish faith.
This major exhibition features
thirty-four spectacular Amish quilts from a single collection, that
assembled by Faith and Stephen Brown, both alumni of the University
of Michigan. The Browns first discovered quilts in the mid-1970s at
the Smithsonian American Art Museum?s Renwick Gallery in Washington,
D.C. when they visited an exhibition of quilts also drawn from a private
collection--that of Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof. The Browns
were attracted by the graphic power, intense colors, and creative impulses
evident in the quilts. Soon thereafter, upon spying a bold Amish quilt
in a Chicago store front, they made their first purchase, and their
quest for quilts had begun.
Maker unknown
Roman Stripes (detail)
Holmes County, Ohio
cotton sateens, 84 x 61 inches
1912
Over about twenty-five years
the Browns? collection has grown to some ninety quilts, of which the
great majority are Amish. Most of these were created between 1880 and
1940 in the Amish communities of Ohio, other Midwestern locales, and
Pennsylvania, so that from this single collection it is possible to
mount a rich exploration of the greatest period of Amish quiltmaking.
Relatively insulated during this time from the larger American cultural
context, Amish women created quilts using certain basic patterns, natural
fibers, and extraordinarily vibrant colors. The Browns? collection focuses
especially on quilts produced in Holmes County, Ohio, home to the largest
Amish settlement in America, while also representing substantial holdings
from the second largest--and the oldest--Amish settlement in America,
that in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Additional quilts come from
Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas permitting study of the distinguishing
and distinctive characteristics of Amish quilts produced in the Midwestern
states, and the divergencies of these quilts from those produced in
Pennsylvania.
Maker unknown
Broken Dishes (crib quilt), (detail)
probably Holmes County, Ohio
cotton and cotton sateens 37 x 32 1/2 inches
circa 1930
Guest curators Robert Shaw
of Quilts Inc. and Julie Silber of the Quilt Complex--two of America?s
leading Amish quilts specialists--have largely structured the exhibition
along geographical lines, in particular, contrasting the quilts produced
by the more conservative Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with
those of the more worldly Amish of the Midwestern communities. Lancaster
County quilts are tightly organized and are based on a limited array
of patterns (all square and strongly centralized), that go back to simple
designs from earlier times. Midwestern quilters, more open to outside
influences, used a greater number of patterns, often those employed
by non-Amish quilters, and formats (usually rectangular and asymmetrical,
using repeating blocks) and interpreted patterns with less consistency
than their Lancaster County counterparts. The prosperity of the Lancaster
Amish allowed them to purchase fine wool fabric expressly for their
quilts, while Midwestern Amish women used cotton fabrics--often scraps
from clothing.
The exhibition presents a
concise survey of the aesthetic achievements of Amish quiltmakers at
the same time that it offers insights into the lives and beliefs of
the individuals who created these vibrant and expressive works. The
exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, fully illustrated in color,
which contains an introduction by Robert Shaw, an essay by master quilter
and author Joe Cunningham on visual aspects of the quilts, and an essay
by Amish quilt scholar Eve Granick on their cultural context.
Annette Dixon
Curator of Western Art
This exhibition has made
possible in part through the generosity of the Friends of the University
of Michigan Museum of Art, Stephen C. and Faith A. Brown, Mr. and Mrs.
James Donahey, Marjorie M. Jackson, Mr. and Mrs. Fernando S. Leon, Jane
Myers and John Barton, William Charles Parkinson, Dr. and Mrs. Amnon
Rosenthal, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Roth, Edward Surovell Realtors, Mr.
and Mrs. Benjamin Wylie, and all donors to the Museum's Annual Fund
2000 appeal. These donors are too numerous to list here but their gifts
have been essential to this exhibition and its companion educational
programming.
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