Maria E. Walter
Mourning Embroidery Dedicated to John A.W. Walter
1840
Scroll
Maria E. Walter
Mourning Embroidery Dedicated to John A.W. Walter
1840
Physical Qualities
Silk ground, silk chenille embroidery threads, gouache, linen lining, 18 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. (47 x 64.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Decorative Arts Fund
Object Number
1957.33
The composition of Maria E. Walter's large mourning embroidery is probably based upon a Washington memorial print, but a more immediate source might be found in some of the embroidered memorials worked at the Folwell School in Philadelphia. Several similar needlework pictures exist that show the influence of designs by Philadelphia artist Samuel Folwell, though they are not painted by him. These embroideries may have originated in one of the many schools competing with the Folwell school in the Philadelphia area. However, the name "Baltimore" written on the canvas lining of this needlework and newspaper clippings from Baltimore papers found on the back of the frame may indicate a different origin. Although the year 1841 written on the monument depicted in this embroidery does not represent the date the embroidery was completed, such a late date is consistent with the extensive use of chenille threads, so named for their furry appearance--chenille being French for caterpillar.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1957; Ms. Nellie M. Parker.
Mournful Maidens: Love and Loss in American Embroidery
Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Vol. II, 1993, pp. 179-383, fig. 409, p. 519, fig. 579.
Betty Ring, American Needlework Treasures: Samplers and Silks Embroideries from the Collection of Betty Ring, New York: E. P. Dutton/ Museum of American Folk Art, 1987, p. 100, fig. 161 (Folwell-type memorial with figures in same pose), and p. 103, fig. 168 (St. Joseph needlework with similar church in background).
Betty Ring, ' Needlework pictures at Bassett Hall,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1982), pp. 479-82, illus, p. 479, pl. VII.
Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch, 'Washington memorial prints,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1977), p. 326, fig. 5.
Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch and Betty Ring, 'Homage to Washington in needlework and prints,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1981), pp. 402-419, esp. 416-417, pls. X, XI.
Betty Ring, American Needlework Treasures: Samplers and Silks Embroideries from the Collection of Betty Ring, New York: E. P. Dutton/ Museum of American Folk Art, 1987, p. 100, fig. 161 (Folwell-type memorial with figures in same pose), and p. 103, fig. 168 (St. Joseph needlework with similar church in background).
Betty Ring, ' Needlework pictures at Bassett Hall,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1982), pp. 479-82, illus, p. 479, pl. VII.
Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch, 'Washington memorial prints,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1977), p. 326, fig. 5.
Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch and Betty Ring, 'Homage to Washington in needlework and prints,' The Magazine Antiques (February 1981), pp. 402-419, esp. 416-417, pls. X, XI.
Inscribed: Printed in gold letters on eglomise mat: 'Maria E. Walter'; Printed in ink or paint on memorial in picture: 'To the Memory/ of / a beloved Brother./ John A. W. Walter./ Who died in New Orlea[ns]/ Sept. 24/ 1841/ Aged 25'; Written in black ink on linen (?) canvas of backing at left center of stretcher: 'Baltimore [in script] 44 R[?]/H[?] 4444 [Note that the inscription is difficult to read and another translation is possible. According to frame conservator Jim Brewster the 'R' and 'H' could refer to 'round and hollow' indicating that this inscription was made by the framer.]
