This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Quilt Museum (IQM) via the donation of the 1,000-piece Ardis & Robert James Collection to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997. Since then, the James Collection’s unparalleled quilts have taken center stage at blockbuster exhibitions around the world, inspired countless in-person and online visitors, and been closely studied and documented by quilt historians and students alike. The Ardis & Robert James Collection established a solid base for the museum to expand and grow; now, after 25-years of dedication to acquiring quilts and expanding understanding of quilt history, the IQM’s collection includes more than 6,000 quilts from five different centuries and over 60 countries.

To commemorate the anniversary, IQM is showcasing An Evolving Vision: The James Collection, a three-part exhibition series on view March 4 to October 29, 2022, which highlights important pieces from various segments of the collection:  Classics – stunning antique American quilts; From the Studio – early and innovative art pieces; and New Horizons – quilt traditions from around the world. Classics, on view now in IQM’s Von Seggern gallery, showcases some of the more unusual and rare American quilts from the James Collection.

“What I really wanted to do when curating this exhibition was highlight some of the research that has been done over the years,” said Carolyn Ducey, Ardis B. James Curator of Collections and the curator of the Classics exhibit. “The different ways we look at a quilt when we are researching it, and the different tools we use, are all represented in this collection of quilts.”

Quilts like the Reconciliation Quilt, the museum’s most famous artifact, have provided experts and academics the opportunity to learn more about the maker, the quilt, the history, and culture of the time in which it was created. Made by Lucinda Ward Honstain of  Brooklyn, NY in 1867, the Reconciliation Quilt gives the audience a glimpse into cultural and societal tensions after the Civil War, and tells the story of Lucinda’s complicated personal life. Ardis and Robert James understood how important it was to preserve these stories for later research.

"It was important to the Jameses that students, scholars, and the public from around the world have the opportunity to see, research and interact with the collection,” said Ducey. “Accomplishing this goal, this dream of Ardis's and Bob's, is one of our proudest achievements."

An Evolving Vision documents the significance of the James Collection but also underscores the broad vision its collectors developed not only for themselves, but for the museum they so vitally helped shape.

The International Quilt Museum, located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus at 33rd and Holdrege, is dedicated to building a global collection and audience that celebrates the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. Visit www.internationalquiltmuseum.org for more information.