Sampler: Pictorial Needlework

Date1833

Artist Mary C. McGee (American, born 1820)

CultureAmerican

MediumSilk, untwisted silk, and silk chenille threads on linen ground

DimensionsSight (mostly square): 16 9/16 x 14 15/16 in. (42 x 38 cm)
Framed: 17 7/8 x 16 5/8 x 5/8 in. (45.4 x 42.2 x 1.6 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. James W. Packard (Elizabeth Gillmer, class of 1894)

On View

Not on view

Period19th c

Classification(s)

SignedAt bottom: Mary C. McGee

InscribedAt bottom: Aged 13 Years, 1833 H

Exhibition HistoryPoughkeepsie, New York, FLLAC, Vassar College, "Modeling Femininity: Art and the Moral Education of Nineteenth-Century Women," January 27-March 15, 2000.
DescriptionA romantic pictorial and alphabet sampler. At the top third is an alphabet and numbers one through fourteen. The lower third of the sampler is a rural scene with a house, dog (or cow), birds, trees, and a basket on a lawn. A generic monument and a willow tree in the middle of the scene denotes mourning. The picture is enclosed by a partial sawtooth frame. A strawberry border surrounds the entire sampler. Thread colors are greens, red, black, brown, and tan.

Terms

samplers (embroidery)

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu