Event Calendar
Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women
In a visually rich presentation that explores the cultural role of Amish quilt-making, historian Janneken Smucker will illustrate how Amish quilt-making reveals aspects of Amish women’s relationship to the wider non-Amish world, distinct design preferences within local communities including Arthur, Illinois, the ways family members passed down quilts and quilt patterns across generations, and the impact of individual taste and creativity within a faith group emphasizing humility and conformity. Smucker is a professor specializing in digital history, public history, and material culture at West Chester University. Pictured: Detail, Crazy Star quilt by unidentified maker, Arthur, IL, ca. 1920. Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown. Promised gift to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
