Needlework picture

This “print-work” embroidery belongs to a small group of mourning samplers produced at female academies in Albany, New York. Worked using different gauge black silk threads, such works were designed to look like a print or engraving rather than needlework. Known examples, dating from 1801 to about 1830, were made by the daughters of some of Albany’s most prominent merchant families. Although scholars have identified several Federal-era Albany schools, no specific teachers or academies have been linked to these mourning embroideries. The unknown maker of this sophisticated piece did not inscribe a name or life dates on plinth of the central monument, suggesting that it may have been intended for a later dedication, once a family member or friend had passed away.


A large flaming urn resting on a plinth is at the center of the composition. Beside it stands a weeping young woman, her face cover by a handkerchief. She stands within a richly rendered lush landscape populated with traditional symbols of mourning: the branches of a weeping willow embrace the urn; a blasted dead tree reaches into the sky; and in the distant background are the ruins of a church. Careful examination reveals subtle areas of black ink or watercolor wash that heighten the depth of the black against the white silk ground.