Abstract Design in American Quilts was first exhibited in 1971 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and is being presented again at the International Quilt Museum on the occasion of the original exhibit's 50th anniversary.
The exhibit and resulting catalog have been monumentally influential on contemporary American quilting. A few personal favorites from the exhibit, plus a couple of photos of the original exhibit at the Whitney in 1971. The first one below is described in the catalog this way:
“This perfectly wretched quilt has nothing to recommend it technically or historically: Its top was very crudely and incompetently made … its color combinations show a complete disregard for, or inability to create, chromatic grace or harmony. … But it works for me as a wonderful design. I am amazed each time I see it.”
