Images(4)

Needlework Picture, "Wisdom Directing Innocence to the Temple of Virtue" by Elizabeth Smith

Dateca. 1805

Artist/Maker Elizabeth T. Smith (active ca. 1805)

OriginAmerica, Connecticut, Hartford

MediumWatercolor with embroidery in silk, silk chenille, and metallic threads and spangles on a ground of silk and velvet

DimensionsFramed: 27 1/8" x 33 3/8" Unframed: 19 7/8" x 26"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957.601.2

DescriptionThis is a rectangular needlework picture worked in shades of red, gold, green, blue, and brown. To the right of the scene, a woman and a girl stand under a fabric canopy and look out towards the left-hand side of the picture. They stand on a parquet floor worked in faded chenille thread, which lies in front of a plinth which supports a vase of flowers. The woman wears a helmet adorned with painted feathers and spangles. The girl wears a gold embroidered dress over a white underdress with a high, ruffled collar, and a brown apron, which is decorated with rows of spangles. A gold shawl is draped over her (anatomical) right arm and gathered on her left shoulder. The woman points towards a temple with her (anatomical) right hand. The girl wears a painted blindfold and holds onto the leash of a small, lamb with her (anatomical) right hand. The lamb walks in front of the girl; its coat consists of French knots and its leash is embroidered with chenille thread. A path surrounded by trees and other foliage stretches out in front of the girl and her lamb, leading them to a staircase that climbs a tall hill in the distance. At the top of the hill is an elaborate temple worked in shades of brown and gold. The right foreground consists of brown velvet. A tree with French knots and a chenille trunk stands to the left, across from a blue, water-colored lake. A village sits behind the hill; its buildings and trees are partially painted and partially embroidered. The entire scene is framed by white, billowing clouds and a blue sky.

This picture was reframed by the Old Print Shop in its "own silver gilt frame and original glass" in 1968. The eglomise glass mat is marked with the title "WISDOM DIRECTING INNOCENCE TO THE TEMPLE OF VIRTUE." Beneath the title is the maker's name, "ELIZABETH T. SMITH." Originally, the silk picture was backed with linen (sewn around the edges) which in turn was tacked onto a piece of wood; the old holes from the tacks are still visible.

Stitches: couched, French knots, outline, satin
Label TextThis allegorical picture shows Innocence depicted as a young girl who is blindfolded and being drawn along life's pathways by a lamb. Wisdom directs the pair towards the Temple of Virtue, which sits atop a distant hill. The subject of this picture was especially popular during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Several variations of the composition have been recorded; while some, like this picture, denote the journey's goal as Virtue, others describe it as Fame, Knowledge, or Happiness.

This picture was most likely worked at the school of Lydia Bull Royse in Hartford, Connecticut.
Inscribed"WISDOM DIRECTING INNOCENCE TO THE TEMPLE OF VIRTUE./ ELIZABETH T. SMITH."
ProvenanceThe vendor, Mrs. Edith Gregor Halpert, notes that this piece was found in New Hampshire.