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An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles

September 26, 2025–March 1, 2026
Exhibition

An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles brings together approximately 30 examples, spanning the 18th to 20th centuries, from the Museum’s rich collection of more than 600 quilts and presents them from an ecological perspective, tracing patterns of relationships between the environment and traditional quilting practices.

This groundbreaking exploration of the natural history of American textiles proposes an eco-critical inquiry into the many facets of global material culture that emerged in the early American republic through the 20th century.

Looking beyond the quiltmaker, An Ecology of Quilts is centered around the origins of textile production and how it informs the artistry of quiltmaking, exploring the environmental and social impact of cultivating and harvesting raw materials; the networks of overland and ocean trade required to transport dyestuffs, fibers, and fabrics; and the technologies and industrial techniques developed to process them, such as the cotton gin—all of which allowed quiltmaking to flourish as a quintessential American art form.

As An Ecology of Quilts documents, textiles represent an intricately woven web of environmental resources, craft and scientific knowledge, global movement, and creative collaboration. Speaking not only to the work of individual American quilters but also to the contributions of countless artisans and laborers around the globe, quilts survive as powerful material metaphors for human relationships and entanglements within the natural world.

Artworks

Tree of Life Cut-Out Chintz Quilt, Probably Wiscasset, Maine, 1925–1935, Cotton, 96 x 90 in., Gift of Cyril Irwin Nelson in honor of Elizabeth V. Warren and Sharon L. Eisenstat, 2001.33.2

Floral Appliqué Quilt, United States, 1856, Cotton, 80 x 84 in., Gift of the Estate of Joanna Rose, 2023.1.2

Mary Alice Kenny-Sinton, Mala Pua Aloha / Garden of Aloha Quilt, Ponca City, Oklahoma, 1991, Cotton, 72 x 72 in., Museum purchase through funds provided by Northern, the Quilted Bathroom Tissue, made by James River Corp., 1991.9.1

Attributed to a Member of the Sinclair Family, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden Quilt, Possibly Vermont, Mid-19th century, Cotton, 87 x 92 in., Museum purchase with funds provided by Nina Beaty, 2024.10.1

Olivia Denham Barnes (1807–1887) and Louisa Denham Farnham (1804–1833), Stenciled Quilt Conway, Massachusetts, c.1830–1831, Cotton and paint, 83 x 72 in., Gift of In the Beginning Quilts, Inc., Seattle, 2002.11.1

Wholecloth Quilt, England or United States, 1785–1790, Cotton and linen, 96 x 93 in., Gift of Cyril Irwin Nelson in honor of Laura Fisher, 1995.13.3

Credits

Major support is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the David Davies and Jack Weeden Fund for Exhibitions.