Needlework picture (Canvaswork picture)

This is a canvas work picture with wool crewel yarns on a natural plain-woven cotton canvas. It was worked in 1852 by Olevia (Olivia) Rebecca Parker while attending Lombard Street School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The picture is on an original strainer inside the original gilt frame. Parker worked this design using cross stitches with wool in polychrome colors. The central image depicts two children carrying cut wood, accompanied by their dog. A finer wool yarn was used for the faces and the hands. The vignette is framed by an oval-shaped unworked ground area with embroidered floral decoration at the edges and the corners. This design source likely came from an illustration or other printed source. Embroidered above the figures are the maker's name, "Olevia Rebecca / Parker", and the date "1852". "Lombard Street School" is embroidered below the figures.

An increasing number of samplers and needlework pictures have been the focus of recent research on the work of young African American girls. This picture was worked by Olevia Rebecca Parker at age fourteen while attending the Lombard Street School, a school for black students in Philadelphia. The neighborhood around the school was rich in African American history, and Olevia and her family were active in organizations working for social justice and the abolition of slavery. Education was important within their community. Olevia later married a dentist; their daughter became a teacher, and in 1881 their son, James Brister, was the first black graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.