Images(2)

Needlework Picture, "Maria," by Eliza Street

DateNovember 15, 1799

Maker Eliza Street (1789 - 1862)

MediumSilk embroidery threads, watercolor, and ink on a silk ground; linen; gilded wooden frame (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OH: 25 1/4" x OW: 32 1/4"; By sight: OH: 21 1/4" x OW: 28 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2023-40

DescriptionSilk embroidered and painted landscape in shades of gold, black, blue-green, pink, green, tan, and cream.The scene depicts a seated woman (Maria) under a tree on the left side of the image, leaning on her left hand in which she holds a leash while her right reaches down to pet the head of a small dog which has climbed up to greet her. On the opposite side is a willow tree, behind which in the distance coming down the winding road is a horse-drawn carriage with one gentleman riding the horse and the another seated inside the carriage. The woman’s face, hair, hands, and feet and the carriage, horse, and rider are painted. Stamped onto the bottom of the image is: “MARIA/ Soon her white robes o’er which green ribbons flow,/ And the sad poplar speak Maria’s woe;/ Yet in some measure to solace the main./ The friendly pipe and faithful dog give aid.” Centered below the inscription is the stamped signature: "Eliza Street,/ November 15th, 1799.”
The picture is stitched onto a blue check fabric that is attached to a period stretcher.The picture is under glass and framed.
Stitches: outline, satin, stem
Label TextOf all the types of schoolgirl art, silk-embroidered pictures on silk, like this one by Eliza Street of Norfolk, Virginia, were the most difficult to execute because they required a high level of skill. Materials used in the needlework were costly and usually were charged as a separate expense on a student’s account. Teachers typically sketched the basic designs or provided engravings and patterns for students to copy onto pieces of silk, linen, velvet, or paper. In this embroidery the subject Maria is taken from Lawrence Sterne's novel A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY THRU FRANCE and ITALY, published in 1768.

Eliza was the daughter of Benjamin and Martha Street of Norfolk, Virginia. After her father's death in 1796, Eliza's mother ran a boarding house in the town to help support herself and four children. In 1806, Eliza married Richard Cocke Archer of Norfolk. Her silk and painted picture is a rare survival of southern schoolgirl art.
Inscribed“MARIA/ Soon her white robes o’er which green ribbons flow,/ And the sad poplar speak Maria’s woe;/ Yet in some measure to solace the main./ The friendly pipe and faithful dog give aid.”
ProvenanceThe silk and painted picture of "Maria" descended from the maker, Eliza Street Archer (1789-1862), to her nephew and son of her sister Martha Street Francis, John Taylor Francis (b. ca. 1825-1862); to his son John Taylor Francis, Jr. (b. ca. 1859-1893); to his daughter Mildred Lee Francis Refo; and eventually to John Refo from whom the picture was acquired.

History of Maker:
Eliza Street was born in Philadelphia in 1789 to Benjamin Street (1751-1796) and Martha Street (d. 1813). Her father was in the mercantile business. By 1796, the family was living in Norfolk, Virginia, where Mr. Street was Captain of the Artillery Company of the Burrough of Norfolk. He died on February 18, 1796, leaving a wife and four children. To support the family, Martha ran a boarding house and tavern in Norfolk.
On January 18, 1806, Eliza married Richard C. Archer at the age of sixteen. They had no children. Archer died before 1825. Family history states that Eliza took care of her sister's children after the death of her sister, Martha, in 1836. This supports the embroidery's line of descent through Eliza's nephew's family. Eliza died in Norfolk in 1862.