BMA PRESENTS AMERICAN CRAZY QUILTS

Media Contacts:
Anne Brown, [email protected]
Sarah Pedroni, [email protected]
Jessica Novak, [email protected]
443-573-1870
BMA PRESENTS AMERICAN CRAZY QUILTS
BALTIMORE, MD (May 13, 2015)—The Baltimore Museum of Art will feature seven lavish quilts—a
kaleidoscope of silks, velvets, and brocades embroidered with colorful threads—in American Crazy
Quilts, on view June 3 through November 29, 2015. Embellished with paint, ribbons, and beads, the
crazy quilts on view from the late 1880s have a delightfully arbitrary quality that belies the skillful
planning that went into making them. This “crazy” style was the epitome of sophistication at the height
of the Victorian era.
Making a crazy quilt provided women an opportunity to produce an article for the home that was truly
artistic, and according to the era’s philosophy, morally and spiritually uplifting. Though they appear
randomly pieced together, crazy quilts’ asymmetrical patterns were unique labors of love and skillfully
planned. The time and energy involved in making these quilts was considerable. “It was commenced July
24th, 1883 while staying at Grand Ma's, Mt. Holly,” wrote Marylander Augusta Adele Smith Jones about
her quilt on view in the exhibition. “Finished February 13th, 1888 at my home, 1911 Eutaw Place.”
“The origin of the crazy quilt, an American invention, is difficult to pinpoint,” said Anita Jones, Curator of
Textiles. “One source claimed that the first ‘crazy’ patchwork pattern was created by an inmate in an
insane asylum, while others think the technique was a colonial form of quilting.” Modern scholars,
however, believe American quilters were inspired by Japanese ceramicists who used crackle glaze that
gave objects a cracked appearance.
Along with this irregular-looking pattern, Japanese influence can also be seen in motifs such as folding
fans, herons, teapots and teacups, vases, butterflies, and dragonflies. Other embroidered subjects
include animals, insects, and a wide variety of flowers.
American Crazy Quilts will be on view in the Jean and Allan Berman Textile Gallery, located within the
renovated American Wing. The gallery highlights works from the BMA’s collection of more than 5,000
textiles spanning nearly 2,000 years.
Curated by Anita Jones, Curator of Textiles.
—more—
American Crazy Quilts/news release
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THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
The Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern,
and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 95,000 works of art—
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offer innovative ways of engaging and interacting with art. Since 2006, the BMA has provided free general
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