Dawn,
The Powerhouse Museum has a number of crazy quilts in its collection,
including a rather interesting Australian variety called a Wagga. These
Depression Era quilts are usually pieced together from bits of men's suiting
on a base of flour sacks, and were used both on beds, and as wrap-arounds by
country blokes out rabbit-shooting in the early mornings. Waggas are only
borderline crazy, because the suiting tended to come in rectangles of
various sizes, but the filling was pieced together of old jumpers, singlets,
baby clothes and anything else, and has its own charm. The collection also
includes some really beautiful old crazy quilts, mostly well-provenanced, as
well as quilts by contemporary Australian craftspeople, some of which are
absolutely stunning. The local quilters guild is an affiliated society.
Quite a few other Australian museum hold quilts, and I have seen one, the
Rajah quilt, made by convict women on the voyage out from England which is
quite wonderful, and is often on display in the National Gallery of
Australia in Canberra. A National Quilt Register is being established of
quilts made or brought to Australia prior to 1965. While not yet complete,
it's well underway and pretty exhaustive. For more information contact
Wendy Hucker, The National Quilt Register PO Box 192 Tumbarumba NSW 2635
Australia. As far as we know they're still just on snailmail.
I don't think any of the Powerhouse quilts are currently on display, though
there have been quite a few quilt exhibitions, including the AIDS memorial
quilts, over the last few years.
Heleanor Feltham
Sydney Mint Museum
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From: daemon
To: MUSEUM-L
Subject: Crazy Quilts in Museums
Date: Tuesday, 1 April 1997 7:03PM
I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my request for museums
which display crazy quilts. I have found several museums to list on
my new page Crazy Quilts on Display which will be added to my site
this week. I'm also planning a trip this summer to visit some of
the museums in Kentucky.
Many who answered my request mentioned that due to their fragility,
most museums do not put crazy quilts on permanent display. Some of
the museums will show the quilts in prearranged private
appointments to those interested in researching them. This
information will be posted on the page along with who to contact
where I have that information.
If you know of a museum which has crazy quilts in it's collection
even if these quilts are not now on display, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Dawn Smith
Visit my webpage Crazy Quilt Central.
Home of the CrazyQuilt FAQ
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/6531
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