Feature Articles


May Issue 2002

USC's McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC, Presents an Exhibition of Quilts from It's Collection

The University of South Carolina's McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC, will give the public a look at its extensive collection during its exhibit, An Everlasting Piece: Selected Quilts from McKissick Museum's Permanent Collection. The exhibition wil remain on view through Jan. 26, 2003.

The quilts, including examples of appliqued and pieced works, illustrate the evolution of this folk art in South Carolina and the surrounding region over the last 150 years. From the early use of chintz fabrics to the popularity of solid colors, the collection reflects the geographic, economic and cultural influences of the time, as well as the transition from European styles to those distinctly American.

"Quilts are one of the most celebrated forms of folk art in this country," said museum director Lynn Robertson. "I think the popularity of quilts is related not only to their large size and artistic patterns, but also because they bring people together. Often women quilt together in a quilting bee, socializing and sharing their ideas and inspirations for designs. Their stories and the stories that their quilts convey are what make quilting a special folk art and cultural tradition."

The quilts displayed in An Everlasting Piece will be interchanged with those remaining in storage to prevent fading and damage. Repeat visitors will have the opportunity to see different quilts from McKissick's collection each time they return to the museum.

McKissick's collection of quilts comes from the Quilt History Project, one of the most in-depth research projects undertaken by the museum. From 1983-86, McKissick Museum, with support from the SC State Museum and the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, conducted a comprehensive survey and documentation of more than 2,500 quilts.

Museum researchers explored how the early European and African settlement patterns in South Carolina's geographic regions - the Lowcountry, the Midlands and the Upstate influenced the state's quilting traditions.

Project director and quilt expert Laurel Horton and museum staff working on the Quilt History Project later narrowed the ethnic and regional focus of their research to African-American quilters on Pawley's Island, SC. Researchers also studied examples of South Carolina "crazy quilts," a style especially popular in the mid- to late-l9th century, and the ways in which families and communities have expressed friendship, appreciation, solidarity and humor through quilt-making.

In addition to quilts, McKissick will display a 19th-century Shaker quilt frame from Kentucky. The frame, made of poplar with pegged mortise and tenon construction, was used by quilters to join the three layers of quilts together.

For more information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the museum at 803/777-7251, or visit the website at (www.cla.sc.edu/MCKS).

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