Fired up by the forthcoming exhibition from the American Folk Art Museum of  one collector’s red and white quilts called INFINITE VARIETY,  in further celebration of the color red and quilt art, NYC American antiques dealer Laura Fisher is offering a diverse collection of red and white quilts at her gallery throughout the Spring.

At the 67th Street (Park Avenue) Armory from March 25 -31 will be 650 (yup, amazing!) quilts in solid red and white literally hanging from the rafters like nothing ever seen before! Up for only a week, and  FREE to the public, lovers of graphic design and of quilts are coming to town to see it and the other ongoing quilt shows at the AFAM.

The allure of the color red in quilts is historic. Among red and white quilts there are iterations of the two-color concept that give clues to age. Earlier 19th century examples feature printed red fabrics with white, and some later 19th century quilts feature printed reds with printed white shirting cottons, as well as the solid red. Fisher finds that interest in antique red and white quilts runs the gamut from the bold clarity of the solid red and white examples, to the softer appearance of the printed reds that many designers choose because the small scaled prints work well with other fabrics that are based on historic printed cottons. 

The collector concentrates on solid red with solid white. Fisher is regarded in the design trade as the queen of two-color antique quilts, offering an inventory every shade of red and white, blue and white, green and white, pink and white, yellow and white, orange and white, black and white, lavender and white, brown and white (you get the idea) a presentation that distinguishes her selections. If a client wants a two-color quilt, there is a rainbow's worth in her gallery.

Red and white alone was a mostly 19th century phenomenon; supplanted by the solid pastels and pastel printed cottons of the 1930s Depression era. For Fisher, when red appears in a 1930s quilt with feedsack prints (25-Patch example attached) it immediately entices the viewer (see her most recent column Feedsacks in Motion in The Quilt Life).

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, from 11:00 – 4:00 or by appointment.

 Also available are antique textiles including coverlets and ticking in the same palette.

Laura Fisher’s

FISHER HERITAGE

305 East 61st Street      New York, NY 10065

tel/ 212. 838-2596    email/ fisherheritage@yahoo.com    web/ www.laurafisherquilts.com