by Quilt Alliance | Apr 10, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1866, philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York City. Bergh witnessed cruelty to work horses during his diplomatic post in Russia and was determined to get anti-cruelty laws passed back in the United States. The ASPCA was based on a similar organization in England, and it quickly became the model for more than 25 other humane organizations in the U.S. and Canada, including the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island, Florida, made this small wall quilt, titled “Get a Dog,” for the 2008 Quilt Alliance contest, “My Quilts/Our History.” From Salzman’s artist’s statement: In the tradition of Harriette Powers . . . I try to do quilts that tell a story. It just can’t always be another pretty picture. I need to learn something and sometimes just have fun. I would like the viewer to see my quilts on different levels. The first being the overall view, the second the directional quilting and in this case the writing. I hope it makes you smile.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/aspca-is-founded Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 9, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1887, African American composer, arranger and teacher Florence Beatrice Smith Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to a teacher/entrepreneur and a dentist. Young Florence played her first piano recital at age four, taught by her mother. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra presented Price’s Symphony in E Minor during the Chicago World’s Fair (Century of Progress Exposition) in 1933, marking the first time a symphony by a black woman had been performed by a major symphony orchestra. Mary Gasperik made this “Star Arcturus—Century of Progress” quilt based on patterns shared in the Nancy Cabot newspaper column in 1933 that honor the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. Susan Salser, Gasperik’s grand-daughter, began researching her grandmother’s quilts in 1991, after she and her two sisters divided up the quilts which belonged to their mother (Elsie Gasperik Krueger) who died in 1988. The Mary Gasperik Quilts consist of more than 80 full-sized quilts plus numerous miniatures and studies created in Chicago between 1933 and 1967 by Hungarian immigrant and award winning quiltmaker Mary Gasperik. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt. Source: http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Price.html#14 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 8, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 563 B.C., Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born as Prince Siddhartha in the kingdom of Sakyas, situated on the borders of present-day Nepal and India. Buddha left a life of great luxury to travel the world and seek inspiration and understanding. He became a Buddha, or supremely enlightened teacher, at age 35 and died at age 80, leaving a community of monks to carry on his work. Today there are an estimated 350 million Buddhists in the world. Patricia Healey of Poughkeepsie, New York made this 16” x 16” quilt, titled “We Are One” in 2011 for the Quilt Alliance annual contest. Healey wrote this in her artist’s statement: “The traditional Dresden Plate pattern forms a healing mandala. The background fabric reminds me of a Hindu woman’s sari and the gold of Buddhist temples. Gold sparkles throughout the quilt as a reminder of divinity in all its forms. The top border is embellished with charms, amulets and symbols of diverse religious philosophies. When not quilting, I teach Major World Religions at Dutchess Community College.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/buddhists-celebrate-birth-of-gautama-buddha Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 7, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1915, American jazz icon Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holiday “apprenticed” with Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong by singing along to their records in after-hours jazz clubs in Baltimore, and by the age of 15, she had moved to New York City with her mother and was singing in Harlem nightclubs for tips. At age 18, she made her first recording as part of a studio group led by Benny Goodman. In the 1930s, Holiday was first introduced to the poem “Strange Fruit,” an emotional piece about the lynching of a black man. Though Columbia would not allow her to record the piece due to subject matter, Holiday went on to record the song with an alternate label, Commodore, and the song eventually became one of Holiday’s classics. April Shipp of Auburn Hills, Michigan made this quilt titled “Strange Fruit: A Century of Lynching” in 2003. The quilt includes the following inscription: “Strange Fruit. A Century of Lynching and Murder 1865-1965 (in red machine embroidery) Dedicated to Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (in gold machine embroidery) 100s of names of victims of lynchings and their states (in gold machine embroidery).” The quilt was documented in 2008 as part of the Michigan Quilt Project. Read the artist’s statement in the full Quilt Index record for this quilt here. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt. Source: http://www.billieholiday.com/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 4, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The 39-year-old civil rights leader was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike and was on his way to dinner. Beverly Ann White of Pontiac, Michigan finished this pictorial quilt, titled “View from the Mountain Top” in July 1991. Included in this Quilt Index record is a quote by the artist: “The dedication on this quilt was made to slain civil rights workers [including King] which I describe as warriors for the cause of freedom and equality. I cannot chronicle the brave and valiant fight of each and every one of the honorable souls who have fought for the rights of African-Americans throughout the history of the United States; I can, however, attempt to show several of those heroes who have impressed me.” This quilt is in the Michigan State University Museum collection. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-king-is-assassinated Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
