Stitched for All Time
February 2007
Seldom does one museum show revolutionize a collecting field, but that’s precisely what happened |
African-American quilt, 1910-25, |
“Prior to Gee’s Bend, even great examples of that kind of quilt might bring $300 to $700,” says Julie Silber of The Quilt Complex in Albion, California. James Yohe of Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art in New York reports that these quilts, made with well-worn blue denim or corduroy swatches, sell for $8,000 and up, with museums purchasing the rarest works at more than six times that figure.
“The eyes of many viewers were opened to the powerful aesthetic skills needed in designing quilts,” says Lauren Whitley, assistant curator of textile and fashion arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Gee’s Bend shows have focused attention on the many styles of patchwork and appliqué. Stitched in layers that include a cotton or woolen interior known as batting, and an expanse of plain fabric called the backing, quilts may be described as a fabric sandwich. The form reached its zenith in 19th-century America, but necessity and artistry spurred 20th-century women, and occasionally men, to create beautiful bedcovers. The 1971 show “Abstract Design in American Quilts” at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the nation’s bicentennial renewed interest in making and collecting quilts. This backfired when reproduction quilts made in China contributed to a decline in prices during the 1990s.
However, collecting interest is on the upswing in certain categories. For example, Gerald Roy of Pilgrim/Roy in Warner, New Hampshire, reports a rising interest in African-American quilts that he describes as “spontaneous and uncomplicated responses to fabrics.” And Stephen Fletcher of the auction house Skinner Inc. in Bolton, Massachusetts, says now is a good time for collectors to consider purchasing antique quilts, since “American textiles have fallen out of favor for no other reason than changing tastes.” One example of this market drop is the Baltimore Album quilt that Silber sold for $110,000 at Sotheby’s in 1988 and that was auctioned a decade later for $54,000.
Prized because each intensely appliquéd square in an album quilt is made by a different person, those from Baltimore feature distinctive eagle and flag motifs. Maryland dealer Stella Rubin notes that while several exceptional Baltimore Albums sold for six figures in the 1980s, nothing comparable has been on the market recently. However, floral album quilts are available at prices ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. She suggests collectors also look for 19th-century pictorial quilts featuring houses and other buildings, people and animals, which will always garner attention. Tom Woodard of Woodard & Greenstein in New York still sees good late 19th-century pieced quilts such as a recently acquired Shattered Star set in circular borders, but his partner Blanche Greenstein adds, “Very few great ones.”
A solid provenance, of course, significantly increases a quilt’s value. Christie’s expert Margot
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Mary Bell Shawvan, Civil War Memorial Quilt, c. 1863, pieced and appliqued cotton. |
Condition is another critical criterion. Nancie Ravenel, objects conservator at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, considers aesthetics and structural condition when evaluating a quilt. There should be minimal staining or fading, and the piece should have intact surfaces free from big holes, thin areas or broken threads. Quilts that have been refolded to avoid creases and are clean but not excessively washed are likely to meet both standards.
Searching for quilts of the highest standard is the guiding focus for New York–based collectors Ardis and Robert James. Fascinated by how often visual traditions are related in vastly different cultures, the couple found motifs and patterns in French, Japanese and Indian textiles that were similar to some of those from the United States. Seeking a way to support the scholarly study of quilts, the couple donated their collection as the foundation for the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The collection features color-drenched neon and sedate earth-toned Amish quilts from Pennsylvania and the Midwest. “Amish quilts work well with a modernist aesthetic. They enhance glass-and-chrome interiors,” says Laura Fisher of Fisher Heritage in New York. These quilts are invigorated by massive amounts of precise stitching. Silber, who in addition to being a dealer is curator of the Amish Esprit Collection in Fine San Francisco, says that current price levels are at just half of their $20,000 to $25,000 highs from the late 1980s.
Quilts created between the two world wars, sometimes called Depression quilts, are made with a pastel palette using recognizable styles such as Dresden Plate and Grandmother’s Flower Garden. An emerging subset of that era is kit quilts. Made with die-cut pieces or pre-stamped appliqué designs, kits cost around $2.98 in the 1930s. Today, Xenia Cord of Legacy Quilts in Kokomo, Indiana, sells excellent, full-sized finished kit quilts from $500 to $1,500. Crib-sized examples, perfect for wall decoration, start at $300.
In another emerging trend, more quilts are being sold at smaller, regional auction houses. “We offer material at a price point that some of the larger New York auction houses just don’t handle,” notes Skinner’s Fletcher. The top 2004 quilt sold at Pook & Pook in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, was a respectable $11,500, a comfortable ceiling for new collectors. That piece, a mid-19th-century central-star quilt, reflects its time with prominent American flags and shields. Rarer are the high-end offerings, such as the Civil War quilt made for a soldier who never returned. Excellent condition and family documents increased its value at Skinner’s where it sold for $149,000 in 2003.
Drawn to quilts by visual appeal and historical reference, collectors are also engaged by the work’s handmade sensiblities. With the new Gee’s Bend exhibition touring until October 2008, awareness of quilts will continue to grow and interest in the marketplace should intensify.
A contributor to American Quilter and Surface Design Journal, Barbara Wysocki was founding editor for the New England Quilt Museum’s quarterly publication.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Amelia Heiskell Lauck, pieced and appliqued center medallion "Delectable Mountains" quilted coverlet, c. 1822.
►Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art
New York. 212.445.0051
www.ameringer-yohe.com
►Fisher Heritage
New York. 212.838.2596
www.laurafisherquilts.com
►Gee's Bend Quilters Collective
Boykin, Ala. 334.573.2323
quiltcollective@quiltsofgeesbend.com
►International Quilt Study Center
Lincoln, Neb. 402.472.6549
www.quiltstudy.org
►Legacy Quilts
Kokomo, Ind.
Xenia@legacyquilts.net
►Pilgrim/Roy Antiques and Interiors
Warner, N.H. 603.456.6281
www.pilgrimroy.com
►Pook & Pook
Downingtown, Pa. 610.269.0695
www.pookandpook.com
►Skinner Inc.
Bolton, Mass. 978.779.6241
www.skinnerinc.com
►Stella Rubin Antiques
Damestown, Md. 301.948.4187
www.stellarubin.com
►Stephen Score Inc.
Boston. 617.227.9192
►The Quilt Complex
Albion, Calif. 707.937.0739
www.quiltcomplex.com
►Tinwood Alliance
Atlanta. 404.607.7172
www.tinwoodmedia.com
►Woodard & Greenstein
New York. 212.988.2906
wgantiques@aol.com
The Art of Comfort by Gerald E. Roy (University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, Ky., 2006).
Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt by William Arnett, et al, (Tinwood Books, Atlanta, 2006).
Quilts Sold! by Dave & Kathy Prochnow (Pelican Publishing Co., Gretna, La., 2006)