Needlework picture (Canvaswork picture)

Description

Christian Williams worked this canvaswork picture in 1751 with crewel yarns and metallic threads on linen canvas. Christian was from Norwich, Connecticut. Christian and her sister Mary Williams, whose canvaswork picture can be found in another collection, may have been tutored by the same teacher. At the time that their pictures were wrought, a schoolmistress, who was teaching needlework skills to the daughters of prominent families, was drawing patterns portraying Biblical subjects with human figures in Colonial dress. Although Christian's picture does not seem to be Biblical in nature, it could possibly represent a story from the Bible. The inscription reads: "CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS / 1751"