Exhibitions: Past

Bethia Willey Poor
Log Cabin Barn-Raising Quilt
Williamstown, VT
1870-1875
71" x 71"

Art of the Needle: Masterpiece Quilts from the Shelburne Museum consists of 40 heirloom American quilts dating from the late 18th century through the 1950s. The quilts are grouped by technique or origin and include Amish quilts (known for their graphic boldness and geometric forms), album quilts (usually created by several women each working on separate blocks and with a common theme) and whole cloth quilts.

When the Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vermont, first opened in 1952, quilts were exhibited solely as decorative accessories in historic homes. Shelburne Museum founder and encyclopedic American art collector Electra Havemeyer Webb made the Shelburne the first museum to display quilts as art when she opened a textile gallery on the grounds. This traveling exhibition highlights only part of the Museum’s extensive collection.

Throughout the history of quilting, the art has had both utilitarian and aesthetic appeal. The finest examples of handiwork were admired rather than used, even entered into competitions, but true artistry also appears in the simplest bed coverings. Standouts in Art of the Needle include the Stars and Pinwheel Medallion quilt, made by a 14 year old Pennsylvania girl; the Catherine Williams marriage quilt, depicting rich narrative scenes of rural life; and the friendship quilt titled Floral Album quilt, with longhand inscriptions from each of its contributor, including such tender messages as “Mother to Sue, 1855.”