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ART INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF IMPORTANT AMERICAN QUILTS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTION Department of Textiles Receives Exquisite Pieces from Shelly Zegart Collection

The Art Institute of Chicago has acquired a group of 21 American quilts from Kentucky private collector Shelly Zegart. Acquisition of the Zegart collection--14 gifts and seven purchases--fulfills a major initiative for the museum's Department of Textiles. Christa Thurman, The Christa C. Mayer Thurman Curator of Textiles, said "The addition by gift and purchase of 21 quilts-each one formerly a significant part of the well-known Shelly Zegart Collection-represents a major addition to the Art Institute's collection of quilted, pieced, appliquéd, and embroidered bedcovers. This single acquisition not only enhances the present collection of 155 such pieces, but unquestionably places the Art Institute in the front ranks of American museums with similar holdings." Quilt making has been practiced by Americans for more than two centuries, and today, quilts old and new continue to touch American lives. The Zegart pieces represent some of the best examples of this classic tradition made between 1820 and 1982. Among the outstanding quilts in the acquisition are: Celebrity Ties (1980-1982) by Mrs. Grace C. Wagner, a crazy quilt made with 44 pieces of neckties from well-known public figures, ranging from Johnny Carson to Kermit the Frog to former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson; Album of Inventors (1933), a piece that features a pictorial narrative of American history from the presidencies of Andrew Jackson to Franklin Roosevelt, and images of roads leading to the modern world as represented by the Sears Pavilion at the 1933 Century of Progress Chicago World's Fair; and Sunday School Picnic (1932) by Jennie C. Trein, an award-winning piece created to represent the quilter's admiration for her friends and family.

Shelly Zegart is a well-known expert on American antique quilts. She co-founded The Kentucky Quilt Project-the first state quilt documentation process that culminated in a publication and an exhibition that traveled with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES.) She has gone on to collect, curate, lecture, and write about quilts for the past 25 years. Ms. Zegart has curated many exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including three exhibitions in the Durst Organization lobby galleries in New York City in December 2001 and January 2002. In 1998, she was an invited lecturer at the World Quilt '98 Tokyo conference and exhibition . Articles by and about Shelly Zegart have appeared in major newspapers and magazines. Some of her recent projects include: authoring her book American Quilt Collections, Antique Quilt Masterpieces, published by NihonVogue, Tokyo; acting as consultant to the author and publisher of Phyllis George's book Living With Quilts; curating Kentucky Quilts: Roots and Wings, an exhibition and catalogue organized by the Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University; participating in a seminar on "Appraising Your Quilts: From Antique to Art Quilts" at the International Quilt Festival in Houston; and serving as President of the board of The Alliance for American Quilts, coordinating the activities of its University and Museum partners. Ms. Zegart is a member of the Appraisers Association of America and was a board member of the Louisville Visual Art Association contemporary art center for more than 15 years.

The Art Institute of Chicago houses the most comprehensive textile collection in the Midwest, and one of the most important collections of textiles in the world. The holdings span 20 centuries and include woven, embroidered, and printed fabrics; a fine lace collection; and rapidly growing contemporary holdings. At present, the Department of Textiles houses around 13,000 items, as well as some 66,000 swatch-size pieces. Mrs. Christa C. Mayer Thurman became the Curator of the Department of Textiles in 1967, and since that time, the department's holdings have been significantly strengthened and expanded. Mrs. Thurman's many publications and close to 70 exhibitions for the Art Institute have established the importance of the collection nationally and internationally.

The Shelly Zegart quilt collection was acquired through the Robert Allerton and the Christa C. Mayer Thurman Endowments. The Department of Textiles is tentatively planning an exhibition for late 2003/early 2004 that will feature all 21 quilts.

The Art Institute of Chicago is a museum in Chicago's Grant Park. Museum Hours: 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Tuesday; 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Saturday, Sunday. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Regular suggested admission: Adults, $10.00; children, students, and seniors, $6.00; members always free. Visitors may pay what they wish, but they must pay something. Ford Free Tuesdays free to all, except for certain special exhibitions which may require full or extra admission fee. City of Chicago residents with Chicago Public Library cards can borrow a "Check Us Out" card from any branch library for free general admission to the nine members of Museums in the Park, including The Art Institute of Chicago.

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