The Quilts of Pauline Parker

July 15–Dec 5, 2021
Bradley Family Gallery

The Quilts of Pauline Parker features more than thirty objects that showcase the artist’s expressive approach to quiltmaking, illustrating how Parker transformed a traditionally domestic craft into one that highlighted current events, historical and biblical figures, and her own travels and experiences.

Parker studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but her work in fabric began in Wisconsin, where she moved upon retirement. She initially worked with traditional patterns and used techniques she had learned from her mother and aunts, before expanding her subject matter, stitching more freely, and exploring a less traditional approach to quiltmaking.

The narrative quilts, or “fabric collages” as Parker termed them, featured in the exhibition were all made between the late 1980s and early 2000s.


Virtual Tour

Experience exhibition highlights virtually, through a 360-degree, interactive tour.

Room with quilt art from Pauline Parker

Presenting Sponsor: The McCombe and Pfeifer Families and the Gottlob Armbrust Family Fund in Memory of Helen Louise Pfeifer
Supporting Sponsors: Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art Milwaukee Art Museum’s Garden Club
Thanks to the Museum Visionaries:Donna and Donald Baumgartner John and Murph Burke Sheldon and Marianne Lubar Joel and Caran Quadracci Sue and Bud Selig Jeff Yabuki and the Yabuki Family Foundation
Image:
  • Pauline Parker, Frog Hunt, 1999. Parker Art Legacy, LLC. Photo by Patrick Young.
  • Pauline Parker, The Rock, The River, The Tree - Maya Angelou, 1993. Parker Art Legacy, LLC. Photo by Patrick Young.
  • Pauline Parker, Birches in Moonlight, 1992. 78 x 66 inches. Parker Art Legacy, LLC. Photo by Patrick Young
  • Pauline Parker, Anita Hill and the Senate Judiciary Committee, 1992. Parker Art Legacy, LLC. Photo by Patrick Young.