Cyril Nelson 1927-2005
It's the time of the year to lament the passing of Cyril Nelson and his great Quilt Engagement Calendar series.
Every year for 20 or more years quiltlovers would scour the bookstores for next year's desk calendar (there was no internet I will remind you.)
Nelson edited the calendars for Dutton, finding absolutely terrific quilts from all the New York dealers.
He bought a few himself as he was a great collector of antiques and folk art.
Collection of the American Folk Art Museum,
gift of Cyril Irwin Nelson in loving memory of his grandparents
John Williams and Sophie Anna Macy, 1984.33.1
This pieced calimanco (glazed wool sateen) quilt from about 1800 is from his collection. He donated over a hundred pieces of folk art, including many textiles, to the American Museum of Folk Art in New York City. The Museum has declared this the Year of the Quilt and two shows featuring some of his donation are up in Manhattan now. It's always a treat to see the quilts that were featured in the Quilt Engagement Calendar up on the wall. It's like seeing a celebrity in person.
See more by clicking here: http://www.folkartmuseum.org/masterworkquilts
We pored over the calendars, which seemed to be a catalog of the best quilts ever made with some of the best photos available at the time. The old calendars are very collectible right now, so keep an eye out for them at garage sales, etc. You can also find the book that Nelson and Carter Houck wrote featuring selected quilts from over the years.
But the problem at hand is:
Without Cyril Nelson where can we find 2011 calendars with antique quilts?
Here are a few suggestions:
For an engagement calendar with weekly photos you'll want the Victoria and Albert Museum's Diary 2011 (Americans would call it a desk calendar)
The photos are from the 2010 exhibition at the V and A. Although it's a British publication, you can easily find it through American distributors. Here's some of their description.
The diary illustrates a selection of quilts from the exhibition and also includes some previously unseen images including reverse sides plus sewing equipment such as needles, étuis and other ephemera....
The American Folk Art Museum's collection of Amish quilts (some undoubtedly donated by Cyril Nelson) is featured in a calendar from Pomegranate publishing.
If you are looking for a calendar with contemporary quilts you'll find many by doing an internet search for the words Quilt Calendar 2011. But those with antique quilts are a little harder to find.
To read Cy Nelson's obituary in the New York Times, click here:
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8 comments:
very interesting post... I have the 2010 Lang Quilt calendar right b/f me. Waiting to see if Santa brings me 2011.
You're right about the Quilt Engagement Calendars. Every year I added the new one to my collection and was frantic running around trying to find the new one that year they stopped publishing. They are a treasure trove of inspiration.
I was in NY last spring right next to the Folk Art Museum and am kicking myself for not going. Augh! (We didn't want to be late getting back to the babysitter.) Looks like I'll need to schedule a whole afternoon for the FAM next time we are there.
Oh, I loved and still love the Quilt Engagement Calendars and I think I have a complete set. I look at these again and again.
My collection of Quilt Engagement Calendars bristles with many colors of post-its. For inspiration and/or problem solving, they are hard to beat. I, too, spent hours trying to track down the calendar the year it did not appear.
Looks like the V & A also have a pocket version of that desk diary -
http://www.vandashop.com/product.php?xProd=5513&xSec=69&utm_campaign=422676&utm_content=1997386850&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Emailvision
I always loved that calendar the best. I do have to say that Cyril Nelson picked one of my quilts to be in the calendar. He called me up and was very gracious. When I told him that there were birds quilted in the solid color spaces...he cried out..I have to get out my magnifying glass do I can see them. I also have the book which is also very fabulolus.
Bonnie
Ahhhhh, yes. I used to wait with baited breath for Cyril Nelson's calendars--looking everywhere, some years finding them, some years not. They taught me so much about quilts back in the days when bookstores and libraries seldom had more than several. They were (and still are) so beautiful and inspiring. I treasure them.
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