Collections record Beta

Needlework Embroidery

ca1890-07-1

Incomplete or unfinished needlework embroidery scene. Square piece of silk bound with homespun linen on the sides and top; side pieces show nail holes where the piece was attached to embroidery frame. Blue, grey, and pink watercolor wash at the top fading towards horizon line. Large trees blocked on the left side, with trunk appliqued in black velvet and foliage begun with black thread crewel. A few bushes have also been worked in black, dark green, and yellow thread crewel. Hills and landscape blocked at bottom, partially filled with pieces of black and brown velvet. Possibly the beginnings of a mourning scene, as the background colors and composition match other mourning scenes in the collection (see 1943-01-0).

Accession record indicates that the piece was likely worked by Jane Loring Gray (1821-1909). Gray was the daughter of Anna Brace Loring, the niece of Sarah and Mary Pierce. Although records indicate that Gray did not attend the Female Academy herself, she did often stay with the Pierce sisters in Litchfield as a child. Her father, Charles Greeley Loring, was also a graduate of the Litchfield Law School. The embroidery was donated to LHS by Mrs. Gray herself, c.1890, in Prides Crossing, Beverly, MA.

• Gray, Jane Loring (1821-1909)

c1830

Width 26", Height 30"

• linen
• cotton
• silk