This historically significant Joanna S. Rose collection was amassed over five decades by Rose, and the collection was installed in 2011 in New York City’s Park Avenue Armory in an exhibition of such stunning impact that it was seen, in its six short days, by over 26,000 people. Mrs. Rose’s husband, Daniel, funded this free-to-the-public exhibition as a gift to his wife for her 80th birthday, and Skira Rizzoli published a book documenting not only the incomparable collection itself in 675 full color photographs, but also the award-winning installation by Thinc Design and the tireless behind-the-scenes efforts by the American Folk Art Museum staff to make the show an exceptional experience for all who were lucky enough to attend, some coming from across the country and others from overseas.
In the Financial Times, art critic Simon Schama called the experience “Pure, runaway, skipping-through-the-puddles joy,” adding that the exhibition was “A monster of happiness that will have no competition anywhere this season for sheer sensory riot or ecstatic retinal shock. Turning the vaulted space of the Armory into a vast tent of hangings, the show delivers more mind-blowing, optically smashing, time-space-altering exhilaration than anything offered by conventional museum shows right now.”
Experiencing the show in person, in a space of the Armory’s scale, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but, divided into 11 chapters, each devoted to a category of design elements, “Red & White Quilts: Infinite Variety” provides an absorbing and intimate way to study the quilts at one’s leisure and will stand as the essential reference on this singular expression of a beloved art form for decades to come.
“Each was beautiful in its own personal way, a reflection of the woman, or women, who labored with needle and thread and scissors and cloth to create original and beautiful and meaningful everyday covers for someone’s bed,” said Martha Stewart.

About the Authors:
Elizabeth V. Warren is a collector, independent curator, author, and trustee of the American Folk Art Museum. Maggi Gordon is an author, editor, collector, and quilt maker with a special interest in the history of quilts. Joanna S. Rose is a writer, editor, and folk art collector. Martha Stewart is America’s most trusted lifestyle expert and teacher and the author of more than 80 books.
“Red & White Quilts: Infinite Variety” is presented by the American Folk Art Museum, Skira Rizzoli, 2015. It is by Elizabeth V. Warren with Maggi Gordon. Foreword is by Martha Stewart. Photography is by Gavin Ashworth. It is the Joanna S. Rose collection. The 353-page hardcover book with 675 color illustrations is $60.
Images courtesy of Gavin Ashworth.