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INFORMATION
Leaving a Legacy: Donating Quilts to Museums
by Andi Reynolds © 2004
She
said, “I suppose a museum is a celebration of death. Dead
people’s lives, the objects they made, the things they
thought important, their clothes, their houses, their daily comforts,
their art.” “No, [he said], a museum is about life.
It’s about the individual life, how it was
lived….”
- Dialogue from The Murder Room
by P.D. James, 2003
For many quilters and quilt collectors, quilting is about legacy,
whether warm generational memories or mysterious auction finds. Because
most quilters create their quilts for family, friends or charity, you
might wonder how quilts end up in museums. Although donations from
well-known collectors make the quilt world news, most museums build
their collections as individual donors give one or two quilts to
preserve their own legacies. Where do you come in?
Museum Acquisition Policy
While a museum wouldn’t be a museum without articles to
exhibit, with very few exceptions, museums can’t take
everything that walks in the door. Offered quilts need to fit within
the museum’s mission statement or acquisition policy, says
Anita Loscalzo, curator of the New England Quilt Museum.
“Donors should research the museum’s interests to
see if their quilt fits in. At NEQM, we consider ourselves a showplace
for contemporary and traditional quilts, and they don’t have
to be from New England to interest us.” As another example,
potential donors enthusiastic about the recently opened Quilters Hall
of Fame should know that everything in this collection must pertain to
the Hall’s honorees, says QHF President Hazel Carter. Judy
Schwender, curator at the Museum of the American Quilter’s
Society, directs potential donors to their website
(www.quiltmuseum.org) to review the mission statement and other
information.
Even as museums accept quilts they may be working on redefining their
mission statement and policies, as is true at the Rocky Mountain Quilt
Museum, says collections manager and Collections Committee chair Martha
Spark. Says Carolyn Ducey, curator and Acquisitions Committee Chair at
the International Quilt Study Center, “Our collection
includes quilts that encompass all American traditions as well as those
with international origins. Having been blessed with gifts of several
private collections, now we are striving for balance. In fact, we are
still defining our acquisition policy.” Such policies take
years to develop; once in place, they take a long time to change.
Museums that don’t focus on quilts per se also have
guidelines for donors to follow. Says Paula Locklair, vice president of
the Horton Center at Old Salem (NC), home of the Museum of Early
Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), “Although our primary
interest in artifacts is pre-1820, our collection of quilts extends
through the 19th century.” All agree with Marilyn Woodin,
founder of the Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum, donor of its first 32
quilts and volunteer co-director/curator: “The hardest thing
in the world to do is to turn something down.”
Condition, Significance and Provenance
After fitting in with the collection, the next vital consideration is
the quilt’s condition. Says Loscalzo, “Restoration
and conservation are very expensive. Unless the quilt has great
historical significance or is of a type we really want, its condition
can affect our decision to accept or acquire it.” The fabric
stability and structural strength of your quilt are but two aspects of
its condition. Although fragile fabrics are a detriment to overall
condition, no one expects very old quilts to be perfectly preserved.
Odor is not a problematic condition, although as a courtesy you should
air out the quilt before showing it to others. Bugs and dirt, however,
are serious problems for museums, as they must protect all of their
artifacts from contamination, and both hasten deterioration. Even
so, you should not clean a quilt before showing it to a
museum, says Schwender. “If conservators don’t know
what (cleaning solution) is in a quilt or (what restoration has) been
done to it, they can’t adequately care for the
textile.” If the quilt has been cleaned or restored during
your ownership, supply as much information to the museum as you can
provide about the chemicals, materials and processes used.
Information about the quilt that helps establish its historical
significance or provenance is another crucial acquisition element
– and more is better. The date and place it was made; the
birth and death dates of the maker; any role the quilt may have played
in history, local or otherwise; images of the maker or the
quilt’s owners; letters referencing the quilt; and even
family hearsay all contribute to its importance to a museum’s
collection. Says Schwender, “As the quilt public becomes more
sophisticated, interpretation (in the form of signage and labels) and
context become more important (to exhibits and to
researchers).” Candace Perry, curator of the Schwenkfelder
Library and Heritage Center, believes that maintaining the tie between
textile and maker is one of the most important efforts a museum can
undertake; documentation provides that link. On the other hand, says
Schwender, undocumented quilts can be spectacular and highly desirable,
too, “because people often don’t understand the
value (to our collection) of what they have.”
Making a Donation
After considering the museum’s mission, research how that
institution uses its quilts, says Carter, also a certified quilt
appraiser. “Do they often exhibit items in their collection?
Do they offer traveling exhibits of their collection?”
Knowing what the museum does with the quilts is important in keeping
your expectations in check, because no museum can exhibit all of its
possessions as often as donors might like to see them. This is due to
budget, time and exhibition constraints as well as conservation
considerations for the fragility of all textiles.
Potential donors should know that many museums use donated quilts to
raise money to meet other needs. It is not unusual for museums to
deaccession (sell or auction) one quilt when another of similar type
but in better condition comes along. Furthermore, “As much as
we like to accept quilts,” says Woodin, “if it
doesn’t meet our acquisition needs, being able to sell a
quilt to fund items such as acid free tissue paper, muslin, or facility
maintenance is most helpful. If we decide to sell a quilt to help meet
those needs, we try to contact the donor if this wasn’t made
clear at the outset.” Most museums state this possibility in
their donation forms.
If you are satisfied that your quilt might be of interest to a museum
and you like what that institution does, take two good photographs of
it – one overall, one detail. Mail or email them with a
letter of your interest to the museum’s curator, director or
collections manager. It helps if you present as much detail as you know
in this letter, including a truthful description of its condition.
While you are waiting for a reply, gather all the ephemera (patterns,
letters, photos) relevant to the quilt in anticipation of taking the
quilt in person to the museum. Be prepared to wait two or three weeks,
at least, for an initial reply. Even well-funded museums have staff
wearing multiple hats, and others operate with only volunteer or
part-time staff, says Sparks.
When you take your quilt (and ephemera) to the museum, don’t
expect an immediate answer. Most museums acquire artifacts via a
committee process, which may take months. In anticipation of leaving
your quilt with the museum for consideration, be sure it is clearly
marked with a sewn-on label including your name and contact
information. A good question to ask the curator while you’re
there is when you might expect to hear a report from the
acquisitions/collections committee. Mark that time on your calendar,
then give the institution a couple of extra weeks to get back to you.
Once Your Quilt is Accepted
Both you and the museum need an appraisal of your quilt for a formal
donation to occur. Says Locklair, “It is often helpful, for
someone considering a museum donation, to have an appraisal made in
advance (of approaching the museum). That way the donor can decide
between making a donation or a direct sale. When having an appraisal
made, be sure that the appraiser has all the historical information
about the object - genealogy, any family history, an image of the maker
if available - because this can often increase the value.”
The museum cannot steer you towards a specific appraiser or pay for
this service, but they may have a list of area appraisers they can
share with you. Check out the Professional Association of Appraisers:
Quilted Textiles at www.quiltappraisers.org
for more information about quilt appraisers and the appraisal process.
Legal, Financial and Tax Considerations
Donating a quilt means just that – it isn’t a
purchase. Doris Bowman, Specialist, Textile Collection at the National
Museum of American History (Smithsonian), notes that “Because
quilts are so popular now and are being actively sold on the private
market, they are usually too expensive for the institutional market
(acquisition budget).” As a donor, however, you may receive a
tax benefit; check with your tax accountant or attorney. And donating
your quilt means letting go of it, fully. Museums must keep your
donation for a minimum two-year period to satisfy tax requirements. You
will sign a deed of gift, which makes the quilt the possession of the
museum. Almost all institutions insist that donations come with no
strings attached. This means you cannot insist that your quilt be
displayed at certain intervals or locations or be exhibited using
specific techniques.
“The IRS process requires that a donation appraisal be done
within 60 days of the donation date,” says certified quilt
appraiser Teddy Pruett. “Be aware that if this is a quilt you
made yourself, you will only be able to deduct the actual cost of the
materials used.”
If you want your quilt to be donated posthumously, take care of these
donation issues yourself in advance. Then spell out exactly what you
want to have happen in your will (see Quilters Newsletter Magazine #
314 (June/July 1999), “The Legalities of Willing Your Quilts
and Stash” by Casey Gluckman).
Alternatives to Museum Donation
What happens if your quilt is not accepted as a donation? If
supporting a favorite museum is the driving force behind your desire to
donate your quilts, auctioning or selling your quilts to provide the
institution with a financial gift might be their best possible use.
Possible markets include those on-line or working with a textile or
antiques dealer you trust.
If seeing your quilts publicly displayed or making them available for
others to see is your goal, consider keeping your quilts together as a
collection that can be loaned. This will require you or your heirs to
store, ship, track, monitor the collection’s condition,
insure and make known the quilts’ availability, or to assign
a trust to perform these duties.
Ducey suggests an option for quilts whose condition precludes them from
being added to permanent museum collections - use as
“education” pieces, which means they are shown
frequently at lectures and symposia for collectors and often used and
touched by school children or professionals training to be restorers or
conservators. Although this application shortens a textile’s
life, it is a valuable use of donated quilts that museums and many
educational institutions appreciate.
Regardless of your quilt’s or collection’s ultimate
destination, be sure each item is clearly and sufficiently labeled to
preserve the quilt/quiltmaker/collector connection for the future.
Having your quilt listed in a research database such as your
state’s quilt heritage project or through the Alliance for
American Quilts (www.quiltalliance.org),
The Quilt Index (www.quiltindex.org)
or at a study center such as IQSC will be of great benefit for future
researchers and the ultimate history – and legacy - of
quilting.
Historical Societies and Other Museums
Many historical
societies at local and state levels maintain wonderful textile
collections, and many historic buildings are homes to locally connected
textiles, which they appreciate receiving. Teddy Pruett, certified
quilt appraiser, says, “A museum in the area where the quilt
was made
is more likely to be interested in that particular piece of material
culture.” For more information, see the American Association
of Museums
website: www.aam-us.org or search the Internet for “your
state” or
“your county” historical society or building. Also
try searching for
museums or historical buildings and societies by topic, such as African
American, cowboy or railroad.
If you are an alumnae and prefer
supporting an academic institution, bear in mind that many colleges and
universities have quilts and textiles held in unusual places such as
home economics or fashion design departments, even rare holdings
libraries.
Remember also that some art, historic, state, living
or other purpose museums hold extensive quilt collections and exhibit
them periodically. The brief list below names but a random few as
examples. For others, and for information on private collections, see
“American Quilt Collections: American Quilt
Masterpieces” by Shelly
Zegart (Nihon Vogue, 1996) and “Quilt Collections: A
Directory for the
United States and Canada” by Linda Oshins (American
Folklife Center,
1988).
Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT), Shelburne Museum
(VT), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Met (NYC), Daughters of the
American Revolution Museum (Washington, DC), Winterthur (Delaware),
Great Lakes Quilt Center (East Lansing, MI), Old Sturbridge Village
(MA), Newark Museum (Newark, NJ), Colonial Williamsburg (VA), Spencer
Museum of Art (Lawrence, KS).
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One Donor’s Perspective
In late summer 2004, after a
five-year process of thinking about donating her quilts, Linda Carlson
of Mexico, Missouri gave her extensive four-block quilt collection to
the International Quilt Study Center. A teacher, author, designer and
collector (www.lindacarlsonquilts.com), she says, “The safety
and
security of this valuable group of 34 quilts led me to consider
donating them. Specifically, my husband was afraid of what a fire in
our home might do. And, I knew this was such a unique collection of a
specific type of quilt, I couldn’t bear the thought of the
collection
being broken apart.”
Since the 1980s Linda had acquired the
best examples of the most popular four-block patterns: Princess
(Prince’s) Feather, Floral-filled Urn, Rose of Sharon (Whig
Rose), Tree
of Life and Blazing Star. She visited several institutions where
“I
looked for a place that could handle this many quilts in the best
possible environment for temperature, light and humidity
control.” As
with all museums, the IQSC sent Linda a list of provisos about what
they could and could not do with her quilts. Included was the bitter
pill that at some point, some of the quilts might be sold.
“But that
would have been true anywhere and my quilts are in a great facility for
care and study,” she says.
Although letting go of her quilts was
quite emotional, Linda is happy that she will participate in curating a
2006 exhibit of her four-block quilts when the IQSC’s new
facility
opens. Her advice for current quilt owners: “Enjoy your
quilts while
they are in your possession. Display them safely (light and temperature
wise) and store them properly. Know what your priorities are when you
begin researching possible recipients for your quilts. If you need to
sell your quilts to recoup your investment, try to sell them where the
buyer will appreciate what you have, such as through a quilt
guild.”
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Quilt Museums in the U.S.
Although we’ve been quilting
in America for centuries, of the approximately 16,000 museums in the
U.S., at press time only 12 are dedicated solely to quilts or quilts
and textiles and the oldest (San Jose), just opened in 1977. Others are
underway or being considered in Florida, Georgia, Washington and
Wisconsin.
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA –
(www.sjquiltmuseum.org)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden, CO – (www.rmqm.org)
Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum, Kalona, IA
(www.kalonaiowa.org/village/)
Quilters Hall of Fame, Marion, IN (www.quiltershalloffame.org)
Museum of the American Quilters Society, Paducah, KY –
(www.quiltmuseum.org)
New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA –
(www.nequiltmuseum.org)
International Quilt Study Center, Lincoln, NE –
(www.quiltstudy.org)
Latimer Quilt and Textile Museum, Tillamook, OR -
(www.oregoncoast.com/latimertextile)
The People’s Place Quilt Museum, Intercourse, PA
(www.ppquiltmuseum.com)
Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum, Lancaster, PA –
(www.quiltandtextilemuseum.com)
Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA (www.vaquiltmuseum.org)
La Conner Quilt Museum, La Conner, WA (www.laconnerquilts.com)
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Andi Reynolds writes,
lectures, teaches and quilts in Keota, Iowa. She may be reached at andi0613@iowatelecom.net.
The author owns the intellectual rights and copyright to this article. Sharing
this site link is appreciated - thank you, SAQA, for reprinting the
article here - but any oral, electronic or printed use of the article
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