Bowling Green, Ky. - Seven quilts from the collection of Western Kentucky University's Kentucky Museum are a part of the "Contemporary and Traditional Quilts From Kentucky Quilters" exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Applied Arts in Riga, Latvia.

The exhibition was organized by Louisville's Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) at the request of U. S. Ambassador Catherine Todd Bailey, who is from Louisville, "to...broaden U.S.-Latvian cultural relations...."

Quilts selected for the exhibition are "traditional, incorporating...geometric patterns..., as well as contemporary designs, featuring images and innovative use of appliqués," and the quilts date from the 1850s to 2004.

The Kentucky Museum's quilts in the exhibition are: "Tumbling Blocks" (ca. 1850-1870) by Margaret Younglove Calvert; "Duck's Foot in the Mud" or "Bear's Paw" (ca. 1899); "Spectrum" (ca. 1933-35) by George Yarrell; "Friendship" (ca. 1896) by Mattie Newton Layman; "Rose of Sharon (Variation)" (ca. 1860) by Jane Brewer Sharp; "William H. Natcher Necktie" (ca. 1985) by Maxine Webb; and "Pine Cone and Fish Tail" (ca. 1850-1870) by Ruth Ann (Bennett) Lindley.

Color images of these quilts are available at: http://www.wku.edu/Library/kylm/collections/inhouse/km/quilts2.html

Present at the exhibition's opening, which coincided with ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Latvia and the May 6th visit by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, were Latvian Minister of Culture Helena Demakova, Ambassador Bailey and KMAC Curator/Deputy Director Brion Clinkingbeard.

Timothy Mullin, head, WKU's Library Special Collections Dept., said, "This marks the first time KLM's collections have traveled overseas. I'm pleased that Ambassador Bailey has given us this opportunity to show off some of the best Kentucky has to offer."

The quilt exhibit, complemented by Latvian arts and crafts and some Kentucky ceramics, will be on view through the third week of June. Upon their return, they will be exhibited in The Kentucky Museum's Galleries M, N and O throughout the summer.

For more information about the Kentucky Museum's quilts in Riga, contact Kentucky Museum Registrar Sandy Staebell (270) 745-6260 or sandy.staebell@wku.edu or check the Website: www.wku/Library/kylm