Humboldt County Quilts Over Time
Quilting has a long history in this nation and in this region. While quilting was rooted in the necessities of colonial, pre-industrial domestic living, it evolved into an independent art form, becoming a folk art, which is loosely defined as the art of the everyday.
California quilts are an especially distinct group, due to the necessities of frontier life. Frontier quilts had to be made with whatever materials were on hand. An excellent and rare example of this to be found in our exhibit is a cigar ribbon quilt, which was made from hundreds of silk cigar ribbons, collected over the course of years. Another unique example is a Hawaiian shirt quilt, on loan from local collector Bruce Pettit.
On display are over two dozen quilts from the Clarke Museum’s collection, including the Ulysses S. Grant Banner Quilt (only exhibited every other year). Using materials, themes and styles that are emblematic to the time periods they were made, these quilts provide a window into the past, telling stories about those who made them and what was occurring in society. This exhibit opens June 3 and will go on until the end of the year.
California quilts are an especially distinct group, due to the necessities of frontier life. Frontier quilts had to be made with whatever materials were on hand. An excellent and rare example of this to be found in our exhibit is a cigar ribbon quilt, which was made from hundreds of silk cigar ribbons, collected over the course of years. Another unique example is a Hawaiian shirt quilt, on loan from local collector Bruce Pettit.
On display are over two dozen quilts from the Clarke Museum’s collection, including the Ulysses S. Grant Banner Quilt (only exhibited every other year). Using materials, themes and styles that are emblematic to the time periods they were made, these quilts provide a window into the past, telling stories about those who made them and what was occurring in society. This exhibit opens June 3 and will go on until the end of the year.
