Welcome! Our collection of antique Amish quilts is displayed in a separate gallery (CLICK ON "ALL GALLERIES" AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE). This gallery is intended to illustrate some common threads (no pun intended) between quilts created by the "plain people" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and modern paintings and collages which, in most cases, were created many years later. We are aware of no direct connection between artists like Frank Stella, Mark Rothko, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol Lewitt, Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely, Ad Reinhardt and Kenneth Noland and the Amish. Certainly, the paintings and collages were created in an entirely different context than the Amish quilts. The paintings were intended to be displayed as works of art. The quilts were intended to cover beds or as gifts. The Amish frown on displays of pride, and they consider the conscious creation of art to fall in this category. However, the similarities in color and graphics between Amish quilts and abstract art can be striking. A note about the Chuck Close comparison. Someone approached me at an exhibit of our quilts, pointed to the star and said "that reminds me of Chuck Close." Others made a similar observation. At first, I didn't get it. Then, I realized they were focusing on the pixilated border in the quilt and the pixilated effect in some of Close's works.

LATEST NEWS: "Amish Abstractions," an exhibit of 48 our quilts, is at the de Young Museum in San Francisco from November 14, 2009 to June 6, 2010. A catalog is available at the museum, from Amazon.com and other book sellers. Additional items related to the exhibit are available at the de Young gift shop.