American Perspectives:
Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection
| Jessie B. Telfair (1913 – 1986), Freedom Quilt, 1983, Parrott, Georgia. Cotton, with pencil, 74 x 68 inches. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Judith Alexander in loving memory of her sister, Rebecca Alexander, 2004.9.1, photo by Gavin Ashworth. |
October 2, 2021 – January 2, 2022
Holmes and Titelman Galleries
In American Perspectives, explore powerful visual narratives that offer firsthand testimony to chapters in the unfolding story of America from its inception to the present. This exhibition highlights more than seventy stellar works of folk and self-taught art from the museum’s collection. Beautiful, diverse, and truthful, the art illuminates the thoughts and experiences of individuals with an immediacy that is palpable and unique to these expressions. The artworks are organized into four sections – Founders, Travelers, Philosophers, and Seekers and respond to such themes as nationhood, freedom, community, imagination, opportunity, and legacy. Evocative visual juxtapositions and accessible contextual information further reveal the vital role that folk art plays as a witness to history, carrier of cultural heritage, and a reflection of the world at large through the eyes, heart, and mind of the artist.
This Exhibition has been organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, with support provided by Art Bridges.
Originally curated for installation at the American Folk Art Museum, February 11, 2020 – January 3, 2021, by Stacy C. Hollander, Independent Curator. Tour coordinated by Emelie Gevalt, Curator of Folk Art, the American Folk Art Museum.
