The Quilt presents a comprehensive and stimulating look at the best in
contemporary quilting through 84 color plates of quilts selected for the
Quilt National 1983, the only national juried show restricted to
contemporary work. The state of this lively art form is also captured
through comments made by the show's artists and jurors, and by Michael
James and Nancy Crow, who acknowledged trailblazers in the field. For
anyone interested in quilts old and new, The Quilt is an indispensable
state of the art record of the attempts by contemporary artists in the
United States and abroad to bring quilting into the mainstream of the
fine arts as an exciting art form capable of great depth and
diversification. The 84 color plates include dazzling and subtle color
studies, humorous and thoughtful views of natural phenomena and the
human psyche, and strong, expressive works revealing their heritage in
favorite traditional patterns.