Medieval Imagery in the Quilts of Mary Catherine Lamb

Medieval Imagery in the Quilts of Mary Catherine Lamb

As a young girl, Mary Catherine Lamb (1949-2009) saved mementos from her Roman Catholic childhood in Oakland, California. Years later, Lamb was stirred by the “holy cards” and other faded religious relics she stumbled upon when clearing out the family home. By this time a disaffected Catholic, Lamb began to make art quilts through which she could, as she said, “embrace the images in a completely different way, on my own terms.” 

Lamb made at least a dozen quilts that re-interpreted religious art produced during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. She drew particular inspiration from The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels drawn by monks in Britain or Ireland around 800 C.E. Using mid-twentieth-century domestic linens and gaudy clothing discovered at thrift stores and garage sales in Portland, Oregon, Lamb transformed the images into textile works. 

Lamb described all of her work this way: “It could incorporate playfulness and irreverence. But it also has a little bit of grief and yearning for the security of the past. 

Works in the Exhibition

Works in the Exhibition

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Mary Catherine Lamb
1995
Ardis & Robert James Collection, 2006.043.0004

The Whore of Babylon
Mary Catherine Lamb
1997
Ardis & Robert James Collection, 2006.043.0005

Winged Cheetah
Mary Catherine Lamb
1998
Ardis & Robert James Collection, 2006.043.0006

Scaley Beast
Mary Catherine Lamb
1998
Ardis & Robert James Collection, 2006.043.0007

Spotted Beast
Mary Catherine Lamb
1998
Ardis & Robert James Collection, 2006.043.0008

Matthew the Man
Mary Catherine Lamb
2002
IQM 2010.009.0001

Mark the Lion
Mary Catherine Lamb
2000
2010.009.0003

Luke the Ox
Mary Catherine Lamb
2001
IQSCM 2010.009.0002

John the Eagle
Mary Catherine Lamb
1999
IQSCM 2010.009.0004

Works in the Exhibition

Gallery Photos

Gallery Photos
Gallery Photos
This exhibition was made possible through funding from the Nebraska Arts Council, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Friends of the IQM. Background research on Mary Catherine Lamb provided by Susan Stanley, M.A.
Event Date
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 to Sunday, October 11, 2015