NAMELESS ART + DESIGN EVENT PARTNER
American Folk Art Museum
Celebrating American folk art, Nameless partners with the American Folk Art Museum to feature anonymous work in their current exhibition.
An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles brings together approximately 30 examples, spanning the 18th to 20th centuries, from the Museum’s rich collection of more than 600 quilts and presents them from an ecological perspective, tracing patterns of relationships between the environment and traditional quilting practices.
This groundbreaking exploration of the natural history of American textiles proposes an eco-critical inquiry into the many facets of global material culture that emerged in the early American republic through the 20th century.
Looking beyond the quiltmaker, An Ecology of Quilts is centered around the origins of textile production and how it informs the artistry of quiltmaking, exploring the environmental and social impact of cultivating and harvesting raw materials; the networks of overland and ocean trade required to transport dyestuffs, fibers, and fabrics; and the technologies and industrial techniques developed to process them, such as the cotton gin—all of which allowed quiltmaking to flourish as a quintessential American art form.
As An Ecology of Quilts documents, textiles represent an intricately woven web of environmental resources, craft and scientific knowledge, global movement, and creative collaboration. Speaking not only to the work of individual American quilters but also to the contributions of countless artisans and laborers around the globe, quilts survive as powerful material metaphors for human relationships and entanglements within the natural world.
An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles
September 26, 2025–March 1, 2026
American Folk Art Museum
2 Lincoln Square
Columbus Avenue at West 66th Street
New York, NY
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11:30 am–6:00 pm
Admission is always free
Visit folkartmuseum.org and follow @afamuseum to learn more
Pot of Flowers Quilt with Birds, United States, c. 1860, Cotton and wool, 85 x 82 in., Museum purchase, Eva and Morris Feld Folk Art Acquisition Fund, with partial funds provided by an anonymous donor in honor of Emelie Gevalt, 2025.4.1, American Folk Art Museum, New York.
Lemoyne Star Quilt, Possibly Ohio, c. 1890, Cotton, 73 x 83 in., Gift of Birgit Lorentzen, 2019.27.30, American Folk Art Museum, New York.
Tied Patchwork Quilt and Overshot Coverlet, Probably Virginia or Maryland, Late 19th century, Cotton, wool, linen, 66 x 77 in., Gift of Margot Paul Ernst in memory of Susan B. Ernst, 1989.16.6, American Folk Art Museum, New York.
