"Surely the most importnt quilt book ever! "

—Laura Fisher, author of Quilts of Illusion and Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art

"So outstanding that words practically fail me."

—Mary leman Austin, former Executive Editor, Quilter's Newsletter

American Quilts: The Democratic Art 1780-2007 is the first truly comprehensive study of the art of American quilts and quiltmaking.

Hardcover with dust jacket. 10 x 10 inches. 384 pages, More than 350 stunning images.

Order your copy now!

Signed and personally inscribed copies are available for $45 postpaid (in the US).

Send a check to Robert Shaw at 435 Longmeadow Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482, or you can use a credit card to send a payment to my email address via PayPal. Be sure to let me know how you would like the inscription to read.

"A rich and beautifully crafted introduction to American quilts from the Colonial period to the present, Shaw's American Quilts offers an engaging and sophisticated synthesis for readers who wish to learn about the art of the quilt in its many contexts. Shaw (formerly, Shelburne Museum, VT) offers an introduction that neatly sets the stage for 14 chapters, each focused on an aspect of the quilting arts associated with a given time period. His writing strategy effectively lends contextual clarity to an art form marked by extraordinary diversity. "The Golden Age of Appliqué, 1840-1860," for example, incorporates a discussion of westward expansion, and "The Great Revival, 1970-2000" links quilting to the larger contexts of the US Bicentennial, heritage studies, and shifts in the contemporary art world. Full color illustrations, individual quilt histories, a bibliography, and a guide to collections render American Quilts a book of exceptional utility as a starting point for teaching, design, and research. Ultimately, Shaw's narrative is what makes this book an enduring work. Readers new to the field will discover the quilt as a remarkable art form; readers knowledgeable in histories of the quilt will discover fresh information and insight. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers."

—Bernard L. Herman, George B. Tindall Professor of American Studies, University of North Carolina
CHOICE, May 2010

"American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 is a must-have book at a bargain price. There are a good number of thick books, stuffed with photos, purporting to detail the history of quilts in America. Many are pretty, few are complete, and none can match this new book by curator, collector and writer Robert Shaw. This sumptuous masterpiece is a thorough study of the key eras in the flowering of quiltmaking in the U.S., written by someone deeply versed in the major collections. This book represents a culmination of a long career and one of the most thrilling aspects is the inclusion of stunning historically significant quilts that haven't been published widely or at all. Another reason to cheer is that it brings quilting history up to date: the indispensable volume by Roderick Kiracofe, The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort ends in 1950, so it doesn't include the quilting renaissance that began in the 1970s. Given the breadth of the history covered and the high quality of the photographs, I find the price just staggeringly reasonable, meaning there is no excuse for not acquiring this book if you care about quilts. This one's a keeper."

—Meg Cox, author of The Quilter's Catalog, and President, The Alliance for American Quilts

"American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 is a fascinating read and an excellent addition to the history of quilt making. This book, thoughtful and well researched, simply exudes an energetic clearness about makers and their works, decade by decade, epoch by epoch. Beautifully printed on heavy stock with clean, clear, sharp color images, the book is chock-a-block with quilts, many new, never seen or rarely seen; their images are printed large, filling entire pages. It is thrilling to see so many quilts not encountered before! There are quilts with such fresh imagery no matter when made and quilts so inspirational in concept that any of them cannot fail to renew one’s enthusiasm and love for this medium. In addition, considering how rapidly the contemporary movement is developing, often overshadowed by commercialism, one cannot fail to appreciate more than ever that there is still a human being (Robert Shaw) who knows and can write about the history of the contemporary movement from its infancy."

—Nancy Crow, renowned quilt artist, teacher and author

The definitive work, published in 1997 and now out of print.

"With the appearance of this gorgeous and ambitious book, it seems unlikely that quilts could ever again be dismissively assumed to be staid, quaint, bound by tradition, or strictly utilitarian. The Art Quilt is an art-lover's treasure, a quiltmaker's bible, and a collector's reminder of all the wonderful quilts yet to covet."
—Threads

Hardcover with dust jacket, 14 x 11 in., 312 pp., more than 300 color photos.

The definitive book on Hawaiian quilts, first published in 1997 and reissued by Universe/Rizzoli in 2009.

"First brought to the islands by missionaries and traders in the late 19th century, quilting in Hawaii adapted to the physical and cultural environment of the islands to become a distinctive art form. The earliest quilt in this collection of Hawaiian masterworks dates from 1874 and the most recent from 1995. Following the format of his earlier Quilts: A Living Tradition, Shaw includes a detailed color photograph, a historical introduction, and a critique for each of the 48 quilts. Essential for textile history collections."
-Library Journal

Hardcover, 12 x 9 in., 120 pp., 50 full-page color photos.

CONTEMPORARY ART QUILTS :
The John M. Walsh III Collection

Catalog essay by Robert Shaw

Catalog of 2001 exhibition at University of Kentucky Art Museum. The Walsh Collection is considered the finest private collection of art quilts in the world, and features outstanding work by Pauline Burbidge, Nancy Crow, Gayle Fraas and Duncan Slade, Michael James, M. Joan Lintault, Terrie Hancock Mangat, Therese May, Jan Myers-Newbury, Joan Schulze, Pamela Studstill, and other masters of the art.

Soft cover, 9.25 x 11.5 in., 48 pp.