A Century of Quilts showcases an often-overlooked art form made almost exclusively by women with twenty-two exceptional examples of nineteenth and early twentieth-century quilts made using techniques including crazy quilting, hexagonal, log cabin and tumbling block piecing, embroidery, and appliqué. The works show the artistic expression found in the domestic sphere and speak to the social context in which the artists lived. The exhibition includes possum skin cloak designs by leading First Nations artists, and a convict shipboard quilt made from around 3,000 pieces in 400 different fabrics.
Kezia Hayter (designer), Unidentified women of the HMS Rajah convict ship (makers), The Rajah quilt, 1841. National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra. Gift of Les Hollings and the Australian Textiles Fund, 1989
National Gallery of Australia
16 March to 25 August 2024
Australian Capital Territory
