The signature Double Wedding Ring Quilt of the Pilgrim/Roy Collection on exhibit at Museum of Fine Arts Boston

While in Boston prior to the 2014 Marathon, we saw city buses sporting a colorful double wedding ring quilt.  We couldn’t help but notice.  The vibrant, pop-art quilt with its striking purple background and spinning wheels of color filled the side of the bus from top to bottom, luring us to the Pilgrim/Roy Collection of eye-popping quilts on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.  I couldn’t wait to see it.  Not only has my mom cut, pieced, and stitched quilts for just about everyone in the family, she has introduced us all to the fine art of combining colors and geometric shapes to produce art worthy of display in any museum.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

To say the least, the exhibit dazzles the eye and stirs the soul.  You could be attracted to any of the sixty graphically bold American quilts just for the patterns . . . or the colors . . . or the workmanship.  But taken as a whole, this body of work takes your breath away. Displayed in dark rooms, the spotlighted quilts move those who stand silently or speak in hushed voices as they contemplate fabric choices, patterns, and hand-stitching.  The curated collection includes well-documented acquisition details and the names of makers, if known. We think you, too, will enjoy seeing these special American artifacts that are artistic in every sense of the word.

Visitor admires a Mariner’s Compass quilt: Massachusetts, about 1840

Bold Colors

Many quilts in the Pilgrim/Roy Collection — almost all, in fact — are notable for rich, vibrant colors that have stood the test of time.

Center Medallion tied child’s comforter: Missouri, 1910

Mennonite, Nine Patch: Pennsylvania (Bucks County), 1880s

Amish, Snail’s Tails: Illinois (Arthur) about 1930

Close-up: Snail’s Tails: Pieced wool plain weave and twill top

Chain Star: Midwestern U. S., 1940s

Close-up: Chain Star. Pieced and appliqued printed cotton plain weave top.

Optical Illusions

If you move one way and then another, you’ll note something different about the quilts that “fool the eye.” Whether it’s the pattern or the combination of fabrics or even how light comes into play, it’s fun to look more than once at the optical illusion quilts.

Yellow Baskets: New York, 1920s-30s.
Perhaps not intended to be an optical illusion, this quilt took on a different appearance as we moved from side to side.

Close-up: Yellow Baskets (At times, grays became more dominant in the background.)

Detail: Yellow Baskets

Striking Geometrics

Although many quilt patterns are quite traditional, the choice of colors can add a modern-day geometric quality or a bold statement as lights and darks contrast.

Lend and Borrow: Pennsylvania (Lancaster County), 1870s

Close-up: Lend and Borrow

Mennonite: Double Irish Chain on point: Pennsylvania, 1880-90

Stitching detail: Double Irish Chain

Log Cabin Variations

At least one long wall and then some was dedicated to quilts using the Log Cabin pattern — squares made up of tiny strips of fabric, half of them light and half dark.  But it’s placement of the squares that determines the overall pattern.

Log Cabin, Sunshine and Shadow variation: Illinois, 1870s. Maker: Rebexy Gray.

Close-up: Sunshine and Shadow

Log Cabin, Multiple Barn Raising variation: Pennsylvania, 1930s

Log Cabin, Windmill Blades variation: Ohio, about 1890

Close-up: Windmill Blades variation

Traditional

Even the traditional patterns became extraordinary with the bursts of color and attention to detail.

Fans: Pennsylvania, 1900-10. Pieced top of wool plain weave and twill with silk embroidery.

Wild Goose Chase: Pennsylvania (Lancaster County), 1880s

Detail: Baltimore Album Quilt, Maryland, before 1847

Detail 2: Baltimore Album Quilt, Maryland, before 1847

Quilts and Color: The Pilgrim/Roy Collection is on exhibit from April 6, 2014, to July 27, 2014.  Be sure to check the website for dates and times.  To purchase the book you see below, click here.

Quilts and Color: The Pilgrim/Roy Collection by Pamela A. Parmal and Jennifer M. Swope
http://www.mfa.org/collections/publications/quilts-and-color

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Avenue of the Arts

465 Huntington Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

General Information: 617-267-9300

Website: http://www.mfa.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mfaboston

To purchase Quilts and Color: http://www.mfa.org/collections/publications/quilts-and-color

My Pinterest board on Quilts: http://www.pinterest.com/rushasams/quilts/