(AURN News) — According to Artnet.com, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is displaying the largest known collection of African American quilts in U.S. history — more than 3,000 pieces donated by the late collector Eli Leon.
The exhibition, “Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California,” features more than 100 works highlighting how Black quilt-making traditions migrated from the South to the West during the 20th century. Leon, a psychologist and passionate collector, began acquiring quilts in the 1970s and amassed thousands, including more than 500 by celebrated artist Rosie Lee Tompkins.
The collection is a leading repository of African American textile art. The curator calls the show a vital record of creativity, resilience and migration — revealing how quilt-makers stitched history, identity and artistry into fabric.
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