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Alma Lesch
Alma Lesch
Born	Alma Wallace; March 12, 1917; Kevil, Kentucky U.S.
Died	May 15, 1999 (aged 82)
Resting place	Paducah, Kentucky U.S.
Known for	Fiber Arts

Alma Lesch (March 12, 1917 – May 15, 1999) was an American fiber artist known for her fiber portraits.^[1] She was "the undisputed grande dame of Kentucky textile arts."^[2] A historic marker notes her achievements in Shepherdsville, Kentucky where Lesch lived and had her studio.^[3] Lesch's quilt, Bathshebas Bedspread, was included in the Objects: USA exhibit in 1969, which was organized by S.C. Johnson and Son.^[4]

Early life

Lesch began her first quilt at the age of five, completing it seven years later.^[5] She graduated from Murray State University in 1941 and earned a master's degree in education from the University of Louisville in 1962.^[6]

Career

Lesch taught at the Louisville School of Art and the University of Louisville.^[7] She also taught at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Her style frequently used found objects, quilting of personal garments, and embroidery in her works.^[6] Her fiber portraits are fabric collages made from antique clothing, however they intentionally exclude the subject's face and limbs, allowing the viewer to imagine the subject.^[2] She pioneered this style of portrait in the 1960s, in which she arranged "clothing stitched on to a quilt as though they were positioned for a portrait."^[8] Although her contemporary, Marilyn Pappas, used a similar technique,^[9] Lesch's portraits are unique in that they touch on the themes of her life lived in Kentucky, including farming, social manners, and folk art.

Lesch influenced other artists such as Jane Burch Cochran. She was named a Master Craftsman by the World Craft Council in 1974 and a Fellow of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen in 1986. She won the Kentucky Governor's Award for Lifetime Contribution to Visual Arts in 1987.^[10]

Solo exhibitions

1963: The Signature Shop, Atlanta, GA, USA
1964: The Arts Club, Louisville, KY, USA
1964: Oakland City College, Oakland City, IN, USA
1965: Jewish Community Center, Louisville, KY, USA
1967: Austin Peay State College, Clarksville, TN, USA
1968: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
1969: The cloth: Textiles on Biblical themes, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, USA
1972: Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis, MO, USA
1976: Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA, USA
1981: Alma Lesch: Fabric collage portraits and other works, Danville, KY, USA
1989: Alma Lesch, ArtsSpace, Louisville, KY, USA
1997: Alma Lesch: A retrospective, Liberty Gallery, Louisville, KY, USA
1997: Alma Wallace Lesch: Master maker, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
2006: Alma Lesch: A life in fabric, Louisville, KY, USA

Collections

Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
American Craft Museum, New York, NY, USA
Flint Institute of Art, Flint, MI, USA
Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts
Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN, USA
Bridwell Art Library, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
Citizen's Bank, Glasgow, KY, USA

Works and publications

Lesch, Alma Wallace (1961). A Resource Unit on Vegetable Dyeing for a High School Art Class (M. Ed. thesis). Louisville, KY: Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville. OCLC 41381086.
Lesch, Alma (1962). The American textile industry and some of its products. Louisville, KY: University of Louisville. OCLC 7120995.
Lesch, Alma (1970). Vegetable Dyeing: 151 Color Recipes for Dyeing Yarns and Fabrics with Natural Materials (1974 revised ed.). Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-71-536652-3. OCLC 16281792.

References

^ Kleber, ed. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 508. ISBN 9780813121000.
^ ^a ^b Potter, Eugenia (1997). Kentucky women: Two centuries of indomitable spirit and vision. Kentucky: Big Tree Press. pp. 100–1. ISBN 0965985806. LCCN 00700077. OCLC 38234518.
^ "Alma Wallace Lesch". The Bullitt County History Museum. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
^ Zegart, Shelly (1998). Kentucky quilts: Roots and wings. Morehead, KY: Kentucky Folk Art Center.
^ Walcott, Ellison Austen (1997). "Alma Lesch Retrospective". Surface Design Journal. 22: 34–5.
^ ^a ^b Allen R. Hite Art Institute (2006). Alma Lesch: A life in fabric. Louisville, KY: Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville.
^ Heilenman, Diane (May 23, 1999). "Textile artist Alma Lesch remembered as a pioneer". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
^ Ogden, Anne Brewer. "Alma Wallace Lesch". American Craft. 57: 82. ISSN 0194-8008.
^ Nordness, Lee (1970). Objects: USA. Viking Press. pp. 316–7. ISBN 9780670520138. LCCN 73087253. OCLC 95458.
^ "2016 Governor's Awards in the Arts: Past Recipients". Kentucky Arts Council. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.