For more than 200 years, colorful bed quilts have been a traditional way to brighten beds and decorate Tennessee homes. Manifestations of a maker’s dedication to family, as well as sources of warmth and comfort, individually-crafted quilts are also creative expressions. A quilt’s three layers of top, filler and back may further hold a wealth of hidden stories—private stories, economic or political stories, stories of race and gender, and stories of changing tastes. All are imbued with the emotions and memories of those who made them and experienced them. Between the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts, selected from the Tennessee State Museum’s vast collection of quilts, highlights the artistry and diversity of the state’s quilt makers and the great variety of stories their quilts tell. It is the Museum’s first new exhibition since its grand opening.
On view February 8 – July 7, 2019
In the News ...
"...absolute showpieces, with carefully coordinated colors and tiny stitches so perfectly close together and so perfectly uniform that it seems impossible for them to have been made by human hands." - NY Times
"...dazzles the eye with color and workmanship and, at the same time, reveals the personal journeys of the individual makers responsible for their creation." - Antiques and the Arts Weekly
"Small stitches speak of the maker’s ability, as do color palettes worthy of a French Impressionist, and patterns rendered through dazzling geometric configurations." - Nashville Lifestyles
"Between the Layers features (Lillian) Beattie’s bright-yellow showstopper and other quilts from all over the state." - Nashville Scene