Unconventional & Unexpected ─ American Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000

Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950–2000 is a stunning collection of approximately 150 eccentric and extraordinary quilts made predominantly by anonymous quilters in the US during the second half of the 20th century. Collected by renowned quilt authority and collector Roderick Kiracofe, they represent a 20th-century quilt movement that remains mostly undocumented. Unlike the familiar quilts that replicate traditional patterns of earlier centuries, these surprising textiles represent a freer, more casual, utilitarian style that departs from (and returns to) a multitude of norms and standards. Peppered with essays by renowned experts that help to contextualize the quilts’ surprisingly modern aesthetic, Unconventional & Unexpected is a groundbreak-ing celebration of 20th-century quilting that picks up where most other quilt histories leave off.

Roderick Kiracofe is the author of The American Quilt and Cloth & Comfort. He cofounded The Quilt Digest and has been actively involved in the creation of some of this coun-try’s most important private and corporate quilt collections, and has curated exhibitions in the United States and overseas.