This catalogue has been published in conjunction with the exhibition: Accidentally on Purpose: Improvisation in African Textiles and African-American Quilts, presented at the Figge Art Museum,
Davenport, Iowa from November 18, 2006 to February 11, 2007.
Accidentally on Purpose presents 129 African textiles and improvisational African-American quilts by 61 quilters. These quilts differ from standard-traditional quilts in their use of
approximate measurement, flexible patterns, bold colors, strong contrast, multiple patterns, shifts in scale, scrap applique, and construction techniques similar to those used in West and
Central African textiles. The exhibition and catalogue explore the relationship between these transatlantic traditions. Accidentally on Purpose celebrates the sophistication, vivacity, and
significance of improvisational African-American quilts, both as artistic achievements and as expressions of African-American culture.
