Putting quilts on art museum walls helped people see them differently
Putting quilts on art museum walls helped people see them differently
Simple strips of fabric combine to form spirited compositions
Over the decades, quiltmaking has repeatedly been "discovered"
How will Abstract Design in American Quilts be remembered?
Protest, patriotism, and handicrafts intermingled in the 1960s and '70s
. . . the year in which the exhibition Abstract Design in American Quilts debuted at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art. But The 1971 Story does not simply focus on the Whitney’s history-making exhibition, nor is it confined to 1971. It also sets the scene for the Whitney exhibition by looking at the entire era's social and cultural contexts and it outlines events and movements that were influenced by or resulted from the success of Abstract Design in American Quilts. The 1971 Story is about a pivotal period, when quilts burst onto a national and international stage.
Come explore this significant era of quiltmaking and quilt history.
 Many social and artistic developments paved the way for the success of Abstract Design in American Quilts, including the dominance of mid-century Abstract Expressionism. |
 The ripple effects of quilts being shown on the Whitney Museum's walls were felt by artists, craftspeople, collectors, scholars, and institutions. |
 No one could have predicted the thousands of miles Abstract Design in American Quilts would eventually travel—across the US and Europe, and even to Asia. |
 At the heart of Abstract Design in American Quilts are the quilts. Can the works relate to each other in new ways? What do they bear in common besides their 1970s fame? |