About Stella Rubin
Stella Rubin has been sourcing and selling antique American quilts since 1970. In that time she has built one of the most respected collections in the country — spanning pieced and appliqué quilts from the 1820s through the 1940s, alongside Mexican silver jewelry, folk art, and rugs.Her eye for quality and her depth of knowledge have brought her collection to the permanent holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, Colonial Williamsburg, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the International Quilt Study Center, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. See the full list of museum acquisitions here.
Stella is the author of Miller's "How to Compare and Value American Quilts," a collector's reference that remains a touchstone for serious buyers of American antique quilts.
Her interest in quilts began when she was an undergraduate in Washington, D.C., boarding her horse at an old farmhouse in Potomac, Maryland filled with antiques. She encountered her first quilt there and was immediately captivated. The variety of patterns and interpretations, the color, the stitchery — her enthusiasm for quilts has never waned in the decades since.
Beyond quilts, Stella has a secondary specialty in fine design gold and silver jewelry, with a particular emphasis on mid-20th century Mexican silver by artists including Hector Aguilar, Tane, Los Castillo, and Antonio Pineda.
She also works with folk art, hooked rugs, and decorative textiles.Her interest in textiles extends internationally as well.
As President of the Marvin and Sylvia Rubin Family Foundation, she initiated and oversaw a program with backstrap loom weavers in the remote Mexican village of Xochistlahuaca — helping the cooperative modify their products to succeed in markets beyond their indigenous community.
The program won prizes in Mexico and the United States and was followed by similar work with two additional weaving cooperatives.Stella has participated in many of America's most prestigious antiques shows, including the Philadelphia Antique Show, the New Hampshire Antique Show, and the Museum of American Folk Art Show.
She has been featured in Country Living, Architectural Digest, Quiltfolk, and other publications.She is glad to work with you whether you are selecting a single piece or forming a collection — from the finest Lancaster County Amish quilts to the funkiest folk art finds. Her gallery is in Darnestown, Maryland.
Guide To Quilt Collecting
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