To celebrate the official opening of 'Material Nation: 250 Years of American Quilts," we are sharing this stunning quilt from the exhibition. 

 

Designed by Miriam Schapiro and made by Marilyn Price, this quilt features solid black fabric with a hand-quilted tumbling block pattern in red thread. The central heart design is made from appliquéd blue, white, and pink tumbling blocks with floral designs appliquéd on top. 

 

Schapiro, cofounder of the CalArts Feminist Art Program and a leading voice in the Pattern and Decoration movement, designed this piece for "The Artist and the Quilt" exhibition — a project celebrating International Women's Year. The traveling show paired well-known visual artists with skilled quilters. Schapiro drew on women's traditional handwork to elevate pattern, appliqué and ornament as serious art forms. This quilt embodies the era's feminist effort to link fine art with women's textile labor.

 

You can see the quilt in person as part of the "American Creativity" portion of the exhibition. 

 

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The Phoenix Heart

Made by Miriam Schapiro and Marilyn Price 

Made in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States; dated 1981

Cotton 

IQM 2019.032.0003