Needlework picture (Canvaswork picture)

Description

Sarah Warren of Barnstable, Massachusetts, worked this chimneypiece in 1748 with crewel yarns on a linen canvas, probably while attending a boarding school in Boston. She was 18 years old. A group of mid-18th-century Boston pastoral embroideries, known today as the "Fishing Lady" pictures, share similar motifs, and in many cases have a figure of a lady sitting by a pond, fishing. The largest of these embroideries are the chimneypieces which include three separated groups of figures, including one group with the fishing lady, united by an abundant sprinkling of trees, flowers, animals, and buildings throughout the landscape. In other "Fishing Lady" examples the other sitting lady in a couple is a spinner. It is still unclear where the image of the fishing lady came from, but she does appear in a pack of 18th-century English playing cards with etchings illustrating a number of occupations. The origin for this etching is still unknown. In "Fishing Lady" embroideries other motifs surrounding her were inspired by a number of design sources, including a series of pastoral engravings by the French woman artist Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, her uncle Jacques Stella, hunting prints engraved by B. Baron, and paintings by John Wootton. Elements from each of these artist's designs can be seen repeated and combined in various ways in Boston embroideries, probably chosen by each embroiderer. The individuality of each arrangement is complimented by the skill of the needlewoman, making this group of embroideries quite appealing. The inscription on Sarah's picture reads: "SARAH WARREN 1748"