Object Number 1957.0784 A

Object Name

Needlework picture (Mourning picture)

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Elizabeth Lane (Maker)
Nothing is currently known about Elizabeth Lane. Further research would be required.

Place of Origin

Northeast, United States, North America

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; reverse painted on glass mat; "Elizabeth Lane, Fecit, 1817" (gold leaf)

Subjects

George Washington

Materials

Watercolor; Silk; Wool; Linen; Chenille

Techniques

Embroidered, Painted, Woven (twill)

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered, hand-painted

Dimensions (inches)

14.25 (L) , 17 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

36.195 (L) , 43.18 (W)

Measurement Notes

Dimensions refer to area of needlework visible within frame.

Object Description

Web - 08/19/2014

This is an exquisite needlework picture with watercolors for the faces, sky, and house, silk chenille yarns for the trees and part of the urn, woolen yarns for part of the ground, and silk yarns for clothing and the remainder of the urn and ground. All of the threads are executed in satin stitch. It was worked by Elizabeth Lane in the Northeast region of America in 1817. After the death of George Washington in 1799, mourning became fashionable, and mourning pictures were very popular as a silk work theme. Silk mourning pictures would typically have mourners, tombs, angels, and weeping willows to reaffirm the message. Mourning became fashionable. The design for this picture is based on Samuel Seymour's engraving "In Memory of General Washington and his Lady," published by J. Savage in Philadelphia in 1804 and 1814.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Swan, Susan Burrows. 1976 A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework.
• Published: pp. 100-101, fig. 72