The Quilt presents a comprehensive and stimulating look at the best in contemporary quilting through 84 colour plates of quilts selected for the Quilt National 1983, the only national juried show restricted to contemporary work. The state of this lively art form is also captured through comments made by the show's artists and jurors, and by Michael James and Nancy Crow, who acknowledged trailblazers in the field. For anyone interested in quilts old and new, The Quilt is an indispensable "state of the art" record of the attempts by contemporary artists in the United States and abroad to bring quilting into the mainstream of the fine arts as an exciting art form capable of great depth and diversification. The 84 colour plates include dazzling and subtle colour studies, humorous and thoughtful views of natural phenomena and the human psyche, and strong, expressive works revealing their heritage in favorite traditional patterns.