Quilts are padded textiles made from pieces of different textiles, a technique known in Europe since at least 1600. The production of quilts gained traction in the eighteenth century in the United States, to the point that it is now mainly associated with this country.
In 1776, the American colonies declared their independence, resulting in the prohibition of trade with Great Britain, which stimulated local production of textiles. In the North, women employed by the textile industry (white or black, usually young and unmarried) were able to have a more independent life economically and access to a variety of consumer goods for themselves and their families, including textile for clothes, curtains, towels, and quilts.
Looking for more stable social standing, many women took part in charitable organizations, usually connected to churches. Those associations enabled them to expand their community presence and made sure that solidarity and belonging were part of their social networks outside of the domestic space. The sale of quilts also ended up becoming an important fundraising strategy in several social and political projects, such as the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, and workers’ rights. During the North American Civil War (1861–1865), it is estimated that there were between 7,000 and 20,000 women’s associations, generically called Ladies’ Aid Societies, supporting both sides of the conflict. The quilts, then, not only debunk the merely decorative function generally attributed to them but also display an entire geometric vocabulary that largely predates modern (male) artists who would become famous as pioneers of abstract art.
— Mariana Leme, mestranda em teoria e história da arte, ECA-USP, e integrante da equipe de curadoria, MASP, 2019
