June 24, 1997

Taylorville, Illinois, United States

Articles announcing "A Cut & Stitch Above: Quilts by Bertha Stenge"

State Museum Presents Quilts by Bertha Stenge Created from the 1930s to 1950s
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Masterpieced quilts by Chicago quilt artist, Bertha Stenge, will be featured in the exhibit A Cut & Stitch Above: Quilts By Bertha Stenge, opening June 29 at the Illinois State Museum.
Stenge is considered one of the greatest twentieth-century quilt makers and designers. Her quilts have won numerous national awards and appeared in national magazines in 1940s and 50s.
The Illinois State Museum has recently acquired several of her quilts through a generous donation from the Frank Mason family. Additional quilts have been borrowed from public and private collections.
Bertha was introduced to quilting through a contest in a local newspaper in 1929. Although Bertha's first efforts did not win prizes, she quickly displayed a talent for design and eventually won quiltmakin'gs most prestigious prizes in the 1940s and 50s.
Her first original design was made for the Century of Progress quilt contest at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. This quilt commemorates the history of Chicago is included in this exhibit.
A Cut & Stitch Above also includes quilts that feature Stenge's exquisite stuffed quilting, her use of vintage fabrics, and her piecin and applique skills.
Quilts displayed illustrate the life and times that Stenge experienced. "One Woman's Life" summarizes in applique, vignettes the historical and personal events of her life. "Four Freedoms" and "O.P.A." (Office of Price Administration) deal with issues of patriotism and food rationing that were integral to life during World War II.
The "American Holidays" quilt depicts a variety of secular and religious holidays celebrated by Americans. The centerpiece of the exhibit is Stenge's masterpiece "The Quilting Party," her homage to the community of quiltmakers that have enriched our material culture heritage.
This exhibit of approximately 15 quilts can be viewed in Springfield through September 7, 1997.
The Illinois State Museum is located at the corner of Spring & Edwards Streets in Springfield, Illinois. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday, 12 noon to 5:00 pm. Admission is free and the gallery is accessible to individuals with physical disabilities.

From Illinois Times, 7/10/1997
Bertha's best
A Cut & Stitch Above: Quilts by Bertha Stenge, Through September 7, Illinois State Museum
ART by Robin Albright
If you appreciated the world of arts and yearn to see the outstanding, the exceptional, the inspirational, take an afternoon to catch A Cut & Stitch Above: Quilts by Bertha Stenge, a new exhibit now featured in the Changing Exhibition Gallery on the second floor of the Illinois State Museum.
This exhibit offers the public a rare opportunity to witness the masterpiece quilts created in the 1930s, '40s, and '50's by Chicago quiltmaking legend Bertha Stenge. Stenge's quilts won numerous national awards and were featured as original patterns in magazines as she led the way for quilters to become more creative and artistic in their work.
What makes Bertha Stenge the artistic revolutionary she is? Stenge was born in 1891. She lived in Alameda, California, as a child and later attended the San Francisco College of Art. She moved to Chicago in 1912 and while there married attorney Bernard Stenge. She let her passion for art take the back seat as she spent years raising three daughters: Frances, Ruth, and Prudence. But once her daughters were grown Stenge began feeding her artistic urge through the medium of quilting.
In 1929, Stenge entered her first contest through a local newspaper and won only an honorable mention. The quilting bug had bit, however, as she became inspired to add an artistic flair to her own original designs. In 1933, she designed a "Century of Progress" commemorative quilt for the Chicago's World's Fair's Sears National Quilt, but she did not win. Her quilt was unique and innovative but the judges seemed to favor the more traditional look. With this in mind, Stenge began to study what caught the judge's eye, and with her willingness to "go against the grain," she also managed to capture what the judges wanted, as her "Palm Leaf" quilt won prizes totalling $725 in the New York World's Fair in 1940. She then won a $1,000 grand prize for her quilt, "Victory," in the 1942 Woman's Day Quilt Contest. This time she hit it big, traveling to New York City for the award presentation at Madison Square Garden, which was broadcast on national radio. The name Bertha Stenge became well-known as a quilter ... as an artist.
Stenge continued to attract more and more publicity. She created at least one quilt a year for approximately thirty years. She held three major quilt exhibitions in her lifetime, including shows at the University of California and the Art Institute of Chicago.
In June of 1957, Stenge died, leaving her entire collection (excluding that of "The Chicago Fair," which Stenge presented to the Chicago Historical Society) to her three daughters.
Recently, the Illinois State Museum acquired seven of Bertha Stenge's quilts through a generous donation of the Frank Mason family of Springfield. Additional quilts for the exhibit have been borrowed from public and private collections. There are a total of fourteen quilts on display.
Once inside the gallery you'll view breathtaking beauties such as "The Chicago Fair," "American Holidays," "Four Freedoms," "Ruth's Ring," "Iva's Pin Cushion," "The Quilting Party," and "One Woman's Life," to name just a few. In the words of one judge, "Bertha Stenge had eyes which saw the beauty of the world around her, and a heart moved with longing to catch and mold some of that beauty as her own. She was an artist - an artist working with scraps of material, a needle, imagination, and a great feeling of enjoyment for what she was doing."
A Cut & Stitch Above: Quilts by Bertha Stenge will be on exhibit at the Illinois State Museum through September 7, then travel to other galleries in the state. Hours are Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
New IT contributor Robin Albright is a staff writer for the Petersburg Observer in Petersburg, Illinois.

From The Chicago Tribune, 2/16/1998
Quilts Uncover the Colorful Career of Local Artist
Forty years after Bertha Stenge died, people are still marveling at the colorful, intricate quilts she created.
Thirteen quilts made by Stenge are on display through April 12 in the exhibition "A Cut & Stitch Above," in the Gaylord Building at the Illinois State Museum in Lockport.
Seeing the quilts brought back memories for Stenge's daughter, Velda Legg of Park Forest.
"She used to sit by the hours and piece them together," said Legg, who is not a quilter. "I wish I'd paid more attention to how to quilt."
Stenge, who lived in Chicago, was no ordinary quilter. She was trained as an artist, and her works won magazine contests and were displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
"She was a quilt artist when that term wasn't used," said Jan Wass, curator of decorative arts for the museum.
One bright, swatch of purple and green fabric featured intricate, cut-outs of figures taking part in an old-fashioned quilting party at the center.
"Just think of all the work that went into it, the patterns and everything," said Julia Boyle of Willowbrook.
Another quilt made by Stenge commemorates a speech made in 1941 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The speech was to prepare Americans for entry into World War II. The red and white quilt features five-pointed stars and a Revolutionary War soldier at the center.
Quilts such as that one called, "Four Freedoms," often were used to tell stories, said Charlotte Rogan, an administrative assitant at the gallery.
Even though Stenge's patterns were published in women's magazines, few, if anyone, succeeded at copying their artistry, according to Vass.
"She had such exceptional craftsmanship and such a great sense of color," Vass said. "Her quilts were so difficult, I don't know anyone who's ever reproduced them."
Annemarie Mannion