An American Patchwork

Exhibitions of Amish and African American quilts open today at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery.

Amish Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown explores the value of the quilt within the Amish community, as well as the infinite variation on traditional patterns in Amish quiltmaking. Drawn from the extensive collection of Faith and Stephen Brown, the quilts on display were crafted during Amish quilt making's "classic period" from 1840 to 1940.

Spirits of the Cloth features fifty-one quilts by more than thirty leading male and female African American quilters that celebrate the recent renaissance of African American quiltmaking. The exhibition communicates strong lessons in the spiritual, cultural, political, and social positions of the African American past and present.

The exhibitions will be on view through January 21, 2001. The Renwick Gallery is located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., across from the White House.

Pictured: Unknown Amish quilt maker, Lapp Family, Smoketown, Pennsylvania, Lone Star, about 1930, cottons and cotton sateens, 81 x 80 in., Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown.