Needlework Memorial to Jacob Cushman by Mary Cushman
Date1815-1820
Maker
Mary Cushman
(1799-1845) (1799 - 1845)
School of
Mary Balch
(1762-1831) (1762 - 1831)
MediumSilk, silk chenille, ink, and watercolor on satin-weave silk in painted and gilded frame with reverse-painted black glass mat
DimensionsFramed: 21 9/16" X 21 7/8"
Unframed: 16 3/4" (42.5 cm) x 15 5/16" (38.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Henry T. Dumbell
Object number1939.604.1
DescriptionThis is a mourning picture embroidered in shades of black, green, brown, and gold silk and silk chenille threads with watercolor and ink embellishments. It features a female mourning figure in black dress with head in hand leaning against a large embroidered marble tomb. Behind the tomb is a large weeping willow tree worked in herringbone stitch. There are trees on either side of the tomb and a church in the background to the right. The grass below the tomb is worked in French knots. The sky is painted blue. The inscription on the tomb is delicately embroidered in black silk threads and reads: "Sacred to the memory/ of Lieut. Jacob Cushman, /who departed this life Nov. 14th, 1802/ in the 29th year of his age/ Believe, and look with triumph on/ the Tomb!" The embroidery is framed in a black painted and gilded wooden frame with a reverse-painted black glass mat with the lettered gold name of the maker, "MARY CUSHMAN."Stitches: back stitch, couched, couched twisted, French knots, herringbone, outline, satin, split, straight
Label TextThe superior quality of the needlework and the distinctive abstract form of the grieving figure beside a large marbleized monument indicate that this mourning embroidery was completed at Miss Mary ("Polly") Balch's school in Providence while Mary Cushman was a student there. The meticulous execution of embroidered inscriptions done in very fine black silk is another characteristic of memorials from Miss Balch's school.
Mary Cushman was the only daughter of Jacob and Mary Tiffany Cushman of Attleboro, Massachusetts. She married Harvey Ide of Attleboro on June 10, 1822. Her handsome embroidered tribute to her father was worked before then, probably 1815-1820 since its original frame retains the label used by Providence merchant-craftsman Peter Grinnell in those years.
InscribedThe inscription on the tomb reads: "Sacred to the memory/ of Lieut. Jacob Cushman, /who departed this life Nov. 14th, 1802/ in the 29th year of his age/ Believe, and look with triumph on/ the Tomb!"
MarkingsLabel on back of original frame: "LOOKING-GLASS & PICTURE-FRAME/ MANUFACTORY,/ PROVIDENCE./ Looking-Glasses in Gilt and Mahogany Frames, of/ the newest fashions, constantly on hand, at wholesale/ and retail; Gilt Frames and Glasses, for all kinds of/ Needle Work, Portraits and Pictures; Looking-Glass/ Plates, Window-Glass of every size, Linseed, Lamp/ and Whale Oil, with a large assortment of Paints,/ Ship Chandlery and Hard Ware./ PETER GRINNELL & Son,/ Main-Street, nearly opposite the Providence Bank."
ProvenanceThe donor, Mrs. Henry Dumbell of Providence, RI, stated in a letter in 1939 that this picture was worked by Mary Cushman, a member of the Cushman family of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Research revealed that Mary Cushman was the only daughter of Jacob Cushman of Attleboro, Massachusetts. In 1822, Mary Cushman married Captain Harvey Ide (1797-1857). Mary and Harvey had four sons: Jacob Dushman Ide; Herbert Augustus Ide (b. 1826); Joseph Read Ide (b. 1834); and Horace Tiffany Ide (b. 1837)—all born in Attleboro. Mary died February 25, 1845, and is buried in Newell Burying Ground in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
1811-1820
