Eli Leon

Eli Leon (1935–2018) was a psychologist, collector, scholar, and champion of African American quiltmakers, particularly known for amassing nearly 3,000 quilts, including over 500 from artist Rosie Lee Tompkins. A gay white man based in Oakland, California, he began collecting improvisational African American quilts in the 1970s from flea markets and thrift stores, eventually building a climate-controlled annex for storage. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1989, organized influential exhibitions like 'Who'd a Thought It,' and donated his collection to UC Berkeley's BAMPFA.