Quilts have long been admired by those who appreciate their dazzling patterns, their ability to enliven any room in which they appear, and the immense amount of work and skill that went into their making. But many have thought that they were the product of privation, made of leftover scraps of cloth.
The Baltimore Museum of Art has news for anybody who still thinks that. Its introductory text to "Sweet Dreams: Quilts and Coverlets from the Collection" informs us that, "In colonial America quilts were a luxury likely to be found only in wealthier households" because they were made of materials too expensive for the average person.
By the mid-19th century, mass-produced textiles had made the materials of quilts accessible to a larger public. But the quilt wasn't something you had to apologize for; it was a proud possession and a lavish present. That's easy to see by the spectacular examples on display in this show of quilts and coverlets largely from the 19th century.
But while it's a visual feast, this is a strangely unfocused show. It is mostly made up of quilts, but there are three coverlets, looking somewhat out of place. Most of these examples come from Maryland. But not all -- there are individual works from Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere.
Why these quilts and coverlets? Do they cover the major pattern types? Or a certain segment of the field? Or are they simply the best examples in the museum's collection?
There are certainly some fine ones, including the Baltimore album quilts that enjoyed a brief rush of popularity in the 1840s and 1850s, and are often thought of as the ne plus ultra of American quilts.
Made of rows of quilt squares of different designs, they were once thought to have been completely made by friends of the recipient. But recent research indicates there were professionals who designed squares and even whole quilts. One of the album quilts on display here is attributed to a designer whose name we now know, Mary Simon.
Album quilts are magnificent, but the ones on view here have a lot of competition. There's the Mariner's compass quilt of about 1840, with its repeated designs of 32 points in red, yellow and green, arranged in circles. The Star of Bethlehem quilt has an immense central, eight-pointed star made of 1,500 fabric diamonds.
In the late 19th century, there was a vogue for "crazy quilts" made of irregular pieces joined with decorative stitches. They made quite a splash, but went out of fashion quickly. In this show, they have the disadvantage of being exhibited near a magnificent 1817 white work coverlet whose elegance makes the crazy quilts look gaudy in comparison.
ART REVIEW
What: "Sweet Dreams: Quilts and Coverlets from the Collection"
Where: Baltimore Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive near Charles and 31st streets
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Dec. 31
Admission: $5.50 adults, $3.50 seniors and students, $1.50 ages 7 to 18
Call: (410) 396-7100