Fabric of a Nation

Pamela A. Parmal, former Chair, and David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Jennifer M. Swope is Assistant Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Lauren D. Whitley, former Senior Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Once a luxury item, since the 17th century quilts have evolved into a democratic art form that celebrates collaboration. Fabric of a Nation, a new book, brings together quilts spanning more than 300 years from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It’s a snapshot of America – Native American history, women’s suffrage, the construction of the railway, the civil rights movement. “Quilts are incredibly accessible objects,” says Jennifer M Swope, who curated the book and exhibition running in Boston. “They have been made and treasured by so many – rich and poor; women and men; urban and rural; white makers and artists of colour. In this way, quilts speak to many threads of the story of America.”

• Director’s Foreword • Preface by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich • Introduction • Ships & Hands • Canals & Cotton Gins • Railroads & Power Looms • Street Cars & Sewing Machines • Automobiles & Advertising • Rockets & Gallery Walls • Further Reading • List of illustrations • Acknowledgements • Index