Needlework Memorial, "Sacred to the Memory of the Illustryous Washington" by Evelian Moore

Dateca. 1805

Artist/Maker Evelina Moore

MediumSilk, silk chenille embroidery, ink, and paint on silk pieced with linen, eglomise mat, gilded wood and gesso frame

DimensionsOverall (Unframed H x W): 21 x 25in. (53.3 x 63.5cm) Framed (H x W): 26 1/2 x 31 1/2in. (67.3 x 80cm)

Credit LineGift of the John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, Fund, Inc., through the generosity and interest of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, and members of the family

Object number1979.604.5

DescriptionThis slightly rectangular needlework mourning picture shows two female figures flanking an urn-topped memorial. The memorial is topped with an urn decorated with flowers. The urn sits on a stepped base over a colonnade, which is itself on a stepped base. The whole sits on a large rectangular base—presumably the tomb. In the center of the base is a blue oval with a painted ground and the inscription, “Glory bring thy fairest wreath/Place it on the Hero’s urn;--/ While Virtue’s tears attest the worth/Of him, for whom Columbian’s ^mourn.” “Mourn” is placed between the last and third lines since the last line took up too much space. Except for the painted reserve and inscription, the monument is worked entirely in chenille.

To the left of the monument, a girl leans her left elbow on the colonnade of the monument. In her right hand she holds a small book. She is wearing a cream, hight-waisted gown worked in silk thread. Her skin and curly, brown hair are painted. To the right of the monument another girl drapes a garland of flowers around the urn. The garland is stitched with chenille. She is also wearing a cream, high-waisted gown, except hers is shaded with blue. Her gown is worked with silk thread, and her skin and curly, brown hair are painted.

The scene is placed outside in front of a large tree with a straight trunk. Part of a willow tree can be seen at the right edge. The ground and trees are worked in chenille in shades of gold, brown, and green. A river or lake is in the foreground and is painted. The sky is also painted. Hidden beneath the frame, the ground fabric has eyelets along the left and right edges.

The piece is framed under an eglomise mat with a straight line of gilding around the opening. ‘SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE ILLUSTRYOUS WASHINGTON./EVELINA MOORE.” is inscribed in gold across the bottom. The frame is made of gilded wood and gesso with shell shapes at each corner and oak leafs and acorns molded along each side.

Label TextThe techniques used to depict the embroidered foliage and the girls’ gowns; the design and placement of the neoclassical monument; and the treatment of the painted sky and the girls’ hair, faces, and flipper-like hands are characteristics shared by a large number of silk embroideries attributed to the Folwell school in Philadelphia. Recent research, however, suggests that the artist responsible for the painting in this embroidery may be
David Boudin.
Evelina Moore’s identity eludes discovery. The verse inscribed on the monument’s base reveals that the dejected figure symbolizes Virtue, while the girl decorating the urn represents Glory.

Inscribed“Glory bring thy fairest wreath/Place it on the Hero’s urn;--/ While Virtue’s tears attest the worth/Of him, for whom Columbian’s ^mourn.”
MarkingsLettered in gold on black eglomise mat -- "SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE ILLUSTRYOUS WASHINGTON./ EVELINA MOORE."
ProvenanceMade by Evelina Moore, c. 1805.
Obtained by Madeline Jordan, antiques dealer, Washington, DC, 20th century;
Purchased by Holger Cahill, New York City, NY;
Purchased by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, for use in Bassett Hall, 1935.
Given to CWF, 1979.