Skip to main content
Gift of Ada Louise Taylor, 1956.63.9a-c  Photograph by David Stansbury.  © 2009 The Connecticut…
The Cottage Girl.
Gift of Ada Louise Taylor, 1956.63.9a-c Photograph by David Stansbury. © 2009 The Connecticut Historical Society.
Photographs and all rights purchased by the Connecticut Historical Society.

The Cottage Girl.

Embroiderer (American, 1785 - 1808)
Teacher (American, 1767 - 1852)
Date1802
MediumEmbroidery; silk thread, metallic thread, and chenille yarn on a plain-woven silk ground; paint; glass, plexiglass, wood
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 22 x 19in. (55.9 x 48.3cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineGift of Ada Louise Taylor
DescriptionNeedlework picture worked in tan; light, medium and dark green; blue-green; light, medium and dark blue; brown, cream, khaki, and white silk thread, gold metallic thread, and brown and black chenille yarn on a plain-woven silk ground, using satin stitch and other stitches; the picture is labeled "NANCY HALE" at the bottom and titled "THE COTTAGE GIRL". The needlework picture shows a young woman in an ankle-length dress holding long wooden branches in her left hand and a basket of red berries in her right. A tree is in the left background. A stream with a cottage on the far bank is in the right background. The sky in the background, as well as the girl's face, neck, arms, legs and feet, are hand-painted directly onto the ground. The landscape is set inside an oval with a jagged border. Above the oval is a swagged vine with roses and leaves. Below the oval are two cornucopias separated by a hand painted signature of "NANCY HALE". The picture is behind glass (.c) that is painted black at the edges; the title is painted in gold at the bottom center. The gilded wooden frame (.b, original) consists of a deeply curved molding surrounded by smaller moldings.

Stitches: The primary stitch on the needlework picture is satin stitch; it also includes long and short, outline, ray, couching, and some overlay stitching.

Condition: Plexiglass has been added to the frame in front of the original glass (.c). The backing is replaced. The frame (b.) is original.
Object number1956.63.9a-c
NotesSource Note: The embroiderer Nancy Hale used an aquatint as a design source; it is titled "The Cottage Girl" and was published in London, 25 June 1799 by J. LePetit, No. 22 Suffolk Street, Middlesex Hospital. The source is illustrated in Theodore and Nancy Sizer et al. To Ornament their Minds: Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy, fig. 29. (Hunt 3/22/2007)
On View
Not on view
Connecticut Historical Society collection, 1998.145.0  Photograph by David Stansbury.  © 2009 T…
Millicent A. Clark
about 1820
Museum purchase, 1986.157.0, Connecticut Historical Society, Copyright Not Determined
Caroline Watrous
about 1815
Gift of the estate of Mabel H. Talcott, 1956.57.1a-c  Photograph by David Stansbury.  © 2009 Th…
Eliza Talcott
about 1810
Museum purchase, 1959.2.2  Photograph by David Stansbury.  © 2009 The Connecticut Historical So…
Nancy Dunham
about 1805
Gift of Mary W. Edwards, 1984.42.1  Photograph by David Stansbury.  © 2009 The Connecticut Hist…
Frances Ann Brace
1821-1824
1935.14.1
Lucy Kirby Beckley
1814
Needlework Picture
Sally Stiles
about 1805
Gift of Mary E. Hastings, 1922.6.1  Photograph by David Stansbury  © 2009 The Connecticut Histo…
Sarah Lawrence
1797-1805
Gift of William Mason Holmes, Frances Holmes Boothby, and Alice Ovilla Holmes, great grandchild…
Hannah Boardman
1820