Off Center Log Cabin Barn Raising Quilt 1890 Foundation pieced printed plain weave cotton top, printed plain 
weave cotton back * Pilgrim / Roy Collection Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

I just wanted to share a bit of local news for those who live in the greater Boston area and for those of you who might be planning a trip here. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will be opening an exhibit called “Quilts and Color: The Pilgrim/Roy Collection” this spring. The exhibition of 59 distinctive quilts is the first to explore how, over five decades, artist and designer Gerald Roy, who now lives in New Hampshire, and the late Paul Pilgrim acquired bold, eye-popping quilts that frequently echo the work of mid-20th century Abstract and Op Artists. The exhibition not only looks at the quilts themselves, but also examines how color theory relates to their designs. Pilgrim and Roy began collecting in California, and their lifelong passion for quilts led them to amass one of the finest collections in the world, numbering over 1,200 examples from across the United States. Many were created by anonymous women from diverse communities stretching from 19th-century Massachusetts and Amish and Mennonite Pennsylvania to Depression-era Missouri. Quilting gave them a voice in a time when there were few opportunities for women to express themselves artistically.

Tumbler’s Quilt American, Pennsylvania, about 1920 Pieced wool twill top, cotton plain weave flannel back, cotton plain weave binding; quilted *Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund *Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

On view April 6–July 27, 2014 in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery, each section of the exhibition (and the accompanying publication) is introduced by abstract works of art—one painting and seven prints by artists such as Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely and Sol LeWitt—that offer a modern look at color theory. The accompanying publication also explores the history of quilting as it rose beyond its utilitarian and decorative roots to become a form of art in its own right.

I think that this exhibit would be a great guild field trip, don’t you?