Bold Improvisation: Searching for African American Quilts The Heffley Collection - Hardcover

Heffley, Scott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1933466251 ISBN 13: 9781933466255

Publisher: C&T Publishing / Kansas City Star Quilts, 2007

Synopsis

This coffeetable art book presents more than 50 bold quilts collected by Scott Heffley dating back 122 years. The book shows traditional quilts next to their improvisational cousins, as well as African textiles that demonstrate similarities to this American art.

About this title

About the Author:

Scott Heffley began collecting African-American quilts 20 years ago. His fascination with American folk art and textiles led him into this uncharted territory long before the current popularity of these quilts. When not pursuing his avocation of collecting, Scott restores paintings at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. He uses his experience of working on paintings by such masters as Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Sargent when he looks at quilts and discusses their color relationships, artistic merit and aesthetics. He loves to immerse himself in the beauty and history of objects, whether at the museum, in antique markets or at home. Scott graduated from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania with degrees in chemical engineering, chemistry and studio art. His conservation graduate degree is from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in New York.

Review:

Unpretentious but always right on target, Scott Heffley wants us to see what he sees. The care he brings to enlarging our understanding of African-American quilts sparkles with as much personal warmth as the quilts themselves do from their riotously colorful patchwork. --Marc Wilson, Director, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Scott Heffley has taken contemporary quilt lovers, preservers and collectors on a journey of the evolution of his collection of African American quilts. Most important, he curatorially defines each quilt in the collection within the understanding of contemporary and African and African American ethnic traditional styles. This helps to further understand the history and culture of African and African American textile work and design. Heffley's work will undoubtedly contribute much to the body of knowledge of African American quilting. --Samuel W. Black, Curator of African American Collections, John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh

I first saw Scott Heffley's wonderful collection of African American quilts in 1998. I have seen it grow since then and am delighted that it is so beautifully presented in this informative book which I will highly recommend to my colleagues, my friends, and my students. --Dr. Maude Southwell Wahlman, Dorothy and Dale Thompson/Missouri Endowed Professor of Global Arts, The University of Missouri-Kansas City

About this edition

• Publisher: C&T Publishing / Kansas City Star Quilts
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1933466251
• ISBN 13: 9781933466255
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1