Perfecting the Past: The Colonial Revival and Quilts
Released on 05/26/2006, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Tuesday, May. 30, 2006, through Sep. 1, 2006
WHERE: Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, Home Economics Building, north of 35th Street & East Campus Loop
The quilt exhibition "Perfecting the Past: The Colonial Revival and Quilts" will be on view from May 30 through Sept. 1 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery. Quilts from the collection of the International Quilt Study Center will be displayed to show how the Colonial Revival movement (1880-1930) affected pattern, color, and style choices in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Colonial Revival movement involved the glorification of the national past. By portraying the colonial era as a simple and noble time, Americans created myths that remain deeply embedded in the national psyche. The movement was at its strongest from the 1880s to the 1940s. The term "colonial," as it came to be understood by Americans of the period, referred to anything prior to 1840 and incorporated a number of artistic styles. New decorating styles emerging at the end of the 19th century converged with the Colonial Revival and created a style that was cleaner and simpler than Victorian fashions. Quilts came to be seen as the perfect bedcovering for this new style, though ironically few quilts were made by American women before the 1800s.
Women played an important role in the Colonial Revival. They were among the first to preserve historic buildings, lead movements to collect antiques for museum collections and establish lineage societies such as the Daughters of the American Revolution. Women also influenced the role textiles played in the Colonial Revival. They created and sold quilt patterns and kits through cottage industries. The early 20th century saw women of all socio-economic classes making quilts.
The Robert Hillestad Gallery is located on the second floor of the Home Economics Building, north of East Campus Loop and 35th Street on UNL's East Campus. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays from June 3 through August 26.
A related lecture by Virginia Gunn of the University of Akron will be open to the public at 4 p.m. June 22 in Room 11 of the Home Economics building.
The online database of the International Quilt Study Center provides an easily searchable source of more than 1700 quilts from the IQSC collection. Visit the International Quilt Study Center Web site (www.quiltstudy.unl.edu) for images and information about more quilts from the Colonial Revival era.
CONTACT: Maureen Ose, International Quilt Study Center, (402) 472-7232