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Embroidered picture
Misses Pattenca. 1805
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
New York, United States
An oval image depicts a mother with two children offering bread to a beggar child. The scene is based on a mezzotint engraving entitled Charity by P. Stampa, published in 1802. The scene is painted, with a chenille embroidered tree and satin stitch grass. The rectangular framing device is worked in satin and padded satin stitches. The oval is framed by golden ears of wheat, and above, a metallic gold eagle is holding floral garlands in his beak, caught up at the corners with spangled gold ribbons.
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Details
- Title: Embroidered picture
- Creator: Misses Patten
- Date Created: ca. 1805
- Type: Embroidered picture
- Rights: Gift of Myra and William H. Mathers
- Medium: Medium: silk, metallic and chenille embroidery on silk foundation, with metal sequins Technique: embroidered in satin stitch on plain weave; details added in watercolor
- Viewing Notes: Sarah, Ruth and Mary Patten were the daughters of Reverend William Patten and Ruth Wheelock, and the granddaughters of Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College. Their father entered Harvard at age twelve, was ordained at eighteen, and died at age thirty-six, leaving his widow with six children. Their brother recalled that his sisters attended schools in Hartford where they learned ornamental work, probably needlework and painting, "which were profitable to assist in supporting the family, as no goods of these kinds were imported in war time." They also earned their living by teaching. The eldest daughter began teaching in her mother's home in 1785, and by 1800 the Misses Patten's school had become well-known, at times enrolling more than two hundred students. Along with the basic subjects, the girls learned decorative embroidery, creating elaborate neoclassical silk pictures. The image of Charity, no doubt inspired by the engraving by P. Stampa published in 1802, was a favorite of the Misses Patten. The framing device, in which the pictorial element is encircled by golden ears of wheat and surmounted by a golden eagle above a swagged garland, is typical of work from the school.
- Provenance: Ex. coll. Fraser-Martin. Purchased at Drake sale, American Art Galleries cat. #943, 1913.
- Dimensions: H x W: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
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