Memorial Picture
EmbroidererEmbroidered by
Sophia Ellsworth
(American, 1794 - 1865)
SchoolAttributed to
Mary Balch's School
(American, 1785 - 1831)
Date1812
MediumEmbroidery; silk thread, black watercolor, black ink on a satin-woven silk ground; glass, gilt and black paint, wood
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width of frame): 22 3/8 x 26 1/2in. (56.8 x 67.3cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1987.38.0
DescriptionMemorial picture worked in black silk thread and black watercolor and ink on a cream-colored satin-woven silk ground using seed stitch and other stitches; the mourning picture is labeled "SOPHIA ELLSWORTH/ 1812" and is in a gold-painted wooden frame. The picture shows two stone memorials, each at a slight angle to the other. The leftmost memorial consists of a low rectangular base supporting an obelisk and an urn. An embroidered inscription on the front of the base states "Sacred to the memory/ of/ Miss BETSEY A. ELLSWORTH/ who was born Dec. 24th, 1785/ and died July 26th, 1797/ And/ CHLOE ELLSWORTH,/ who was born March 18th, 1796/ and died July 22d, 1797". The rightmost memorial consists of a low rectangular base supporting an urn. An embroidered inscription on the front of the base states "Consecrated to the remains/ of/ Mr. DANIEL ELLSWORTH/ who departed this life/ March 3rd, 1798/ aged 39 years". In front of the two memorials, a girl in a black Empire-style dress is kneeling. The memorials are located beneath two trees in a landscape with trees and bushes.
The silk ground is sewn to strips of linen at the edges; these are nailed to a wooden stretcher. The needlework is behind glass that is painted black at the edges; the name of the embroiderer and date are painted in gold at the bottom center. The gilded wooden frame (original) consists of two tiers of wavy molding separated by a recessed quarter round molding.
Stitches: The primary stitch on the memorial picture is the seed stitch; it also includes the outline stitch. Additional elements of the picture are hand-painted with black watercolor and ink directly onto the ground.
Condition: The back board and portions of the mount for the frame are replaced. Portions of the ground are wavy.
The silk ground is sewn to strips of linen at the edges; these are nailed to a wooden stretcher. The needlework is behind glass that is painted black at the edges; the name of the embroiderer and date are painted in gold at the bottom center. The gilded wooden frame (original) consists of two tiers of wavy molding separated by a recessed quarter round molding.
Stitches: The primary stitch on the memorial picture is the seed stitch; it also includes the outline stitch. Additional elements of the picture are hand-painted with black watercolor and ink directly onto the ground.
Condition: The back board and portions of the mount for the frame are replaced. Portions of the ground are wavy.
Label TextSophia Ellsworth’s black-on-white technique is known as print-work,
because it uses expensive needlework to imitate a less expensive print.
Painted first in shades of black and gray, the fabric is worked with
tiny seed stitches to imitate stippling, a technique used by etchers and
engravers. The inscriptions are precisely stitched (not inked on pasted on
paper), a painstaking technique characteristic of the prominent Balch
School in Providence, Rhode Island.
Despite the appearance of recent grief, the picture commemorates deaths
when Sophia was an infant, in a place (Erie, Pennsylvania) she could
hardly remember. The embroidered monuments of her father and two
sisters were likely much more impressive than their actual gravesites, far
away on a frontier and visited only in her imagination.
NotesSubject Note: Sophia Ellsworth dedicated the monuments in the memorial picture to her father, Daniel Ellsworth (1757-1798) and her two sisters. After her father died, her widowed mother, Mary Abbott (1758-1835) married Ebenezer Scarboro and moved to Brooklyn, Connecticut, in February 1809. because it uses expensive needlework to imitate a less expensive print.
Painted first in shades of black and gray, the fabric is worked with
tiny seed stitches to imitate stippling, a technique used by etchers and
engravers. The inscriptions are precisely stitched (not inked on pasted on
paper), a painstaking technique characteristic of the prominent Balch
School in Providence, Rhode Island.
Despite the appearance of recent grief, the picture commemorates deaths
when Sophia was an infant, in a place (Erie, Pennsylvania) she could
hardly remember. The embroidered monuments of her father and two
sisters were likely much more impressive than their actual gravesites, far
away on a frontier and visited only in her imagination.
Status
Not on view
