An Ecology of Quilts: Nature, Industry, and the Threads Between
This autumn, the American Folk Art Museum in New York has opened An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles. On show until 1 March 2026), the exhibition reimagines the story of quiltmaking through the lens of ecology. Curated by Emelie Gevalt and Austin Losada, it asks a compelling question: what is the natural history of a quilt?
Tree of Life Cut-Out Chintz Quilt. Probably Wiscasset, Maine. c. 1925–1935. Initialed “GMR”. Cotton, 96 x 90 in.
Drawing from the museum’s remarkable collection of more than 600 quilts, around 30 examples will be shown, spanning the 18th to 20th centuries. Rather than beginning with the maker, the exhibition starts at the source. From tufts of cotton and silkworm cocoons to the leaves of the indigo plant, by tracing these raw materials, An Ecology of Quilts launches a deeper engagement with the vast complexity of quilting history. It follows the routes by which fibres, dyestuffs, and fabrics crossed oceans and continents, linking living things, technologies, and labour in a dense web of environmental and social exchange.
Tied Patchwork Quilt and Overshot Coverlet. Probably Virginia or Maryland, late 19th century. Cotton, wool, linen. 66 x 77 in.
The exhibition considers the ecological cost of textile production, from the enslaved labour that powered the indigo plantations of 18th-century South Carolina to the mechanised dye houses and mills of the industrial age. Once known as “blue gold,” indigo is revisited here not only as a colour but as a story of exploitation, resilience, and revival through more sustainable practice. The exhibition also explores the development of synthetic dyes, tracing their complex, often toxic histories and their role in transforming global colour palettes.
Chintz Wholecloth Quilt. England or United States, c. 1810–1820. Cotton, 91 1/4 x 87 in.
Divided into sections exploring colour, fibre, and pattern, the exhibition reveals how quilting sits at the intersection of ecology and ingenuity. Printed textiles trace the evolution from handmade botanical designs to the mass-produced florals of the 19th century, which serve as symbols of both innovation and loss. Yet quilting also represents renewal: the act of taking cast-off scraps and infusing them with new life.
Log Cabin Variation Quilt. Possibly Georgia c. 1900. Cotton, linen, wool, synthetics. 78 x 68 in.
The quilts themselves reveal the diversity of their makers: Malissia Pettway of Gee’s Bend, Alabama; Dr Raymond F. Bellamy, a Florida sociologist turned quilter; an early 20th-century St. Louis tailor transforming suiting wool into a brick-pattern quilt; and contemporary textile artist Tomie Nagano. Quilting traditions from Hawaii and Oaxaca expand the narrative further, reminding us that these textiles were never solely American but part of a global fabric of creativity, collaboration, and environmental adaptation.
In presenting quilts as ecological artefacts as much as artistic ones, An Ecology of Quilts reframes the medium as a living archive that holds stories of the earth, the hand, and the intricate systems that bind them together.
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Further Information:
An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles is on now at the American Folk Art Museum, New York, until 1 March 2026
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Image Credits:
Lead: Floral Appliqué Quilt. United States, 1856. Initialed “L.C.”. Cotton, 84 x 80 in. Gift of the Estate of Joanna Rose, 2023.1.2
All further images as credited in photo captions.