From the Smithsonian American Art Museum: "Explore the creative practice of Amish quilters in the United States. Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women looks beyond quilting as a utilitarian practice. It reveals historical quilting among the Amish as an aesthetic endeavor that walked a line between cultural and individual expression. The quilts paradoxically twin the plain with the spectacular, tradition with innovation, and a dismissal of personal pride with objects often seen as extraordinary artworks."

More From the Smithsonian American Art Museum about the Exhibit:

"In the late nineteenth century, Amish women adopted an artform already established within the larger American culture and made it distinctly their own, developing community and familial preferences, with women sharing work, skills, and patterns. The quilts in Pattern and Paradox were all made between 1880 and 1950 in communities united by faith, values of conformity and humility, and a rejection of “worldly” society. No specific guidelines governed quilt patterns or colors, so Amish women explored an uncharted territory, pushing cultural limitations by innovating within a community that values adherence to rules. Styles, patterns, and color preferences eventually varied and distinguished the various settlements, but it was the local quilters who drove and set the standards."

The exhibit will be on display from March 28, 2024 – August 26, 2024 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

Click Here, or the image of the quilt below, to learn more about the exhibit.

Below Photo: Unidentified Maker​​, Crazy Star; ca. 1920​​, Arthur, Illinois​​, cotton and wool; 74 x 63 ½ in. (detail), Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown, Promised gift to the Smithsonian American Art Museum