D2014-CMD. Needlework picture 2014.601.1

Needlework Picture, Georgetown Academy for Young Ladies, by Maria T. Lalor

Date1800-1804

Maker Maria Teresa Lalor (1793-1816)

OriginAmerica, District of Columbia, Washington, Georgetown

MediumSilk embroidery threads, watercolor, ink and pencil on silk ground, églomisé mat, wood, glass (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsOH: 15 1/8” x OW: 19 7/8”

Credit LineGift of Alice Lalor Molten Earle

Object number2014.601.1

DescriptionThis is a silk embroidered picture made by Maria T. Lalor in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The picture depicts a landscape with two buildings, a stream, resting sheep, and a shepherdess. The building to the viewer's left side is blue and green with a tan roof, while the building in the center is red brick. The buildings are surrounded by leafy green and brown trees. The buildings sit on a rolling landscape surrounding a stream that has a rock formation in it. The shepherdess figure looks away from the stream, and holds a basket in her hand. She wears a light yellow gown and matching hat. She stands next to two resting sheep that are made of French knots.
The scene is framed by an églomisé mat that has an inscription, "MARIA T. LALOR." at the bottom. The mat is black with a gold border around the picture and gold corner designs. The frame itself is covered in gold paint.
Stitches: couched satin, French knots, long and short, satin, stem, straight
Label TextMaria Teresa Lalor’s embroidered picture is one of three similar known pieces worked between 1800 and 1804 at the Young Ladies’ Academy of Georgetown. Attributed to the needlework instruction of Maria Sharpe, the scene probably represents the school grounds of the Young Ladies’ Academy of Georgetown. The Catholic academy was established in 1799, to meet the need for local education for a growing Catholic community that saw an influx of immigrants during the late 18th century. One of the earliest female seminaries in Georgetown, it is the only Catholic girls’ school in continuous existence in the U. S and is located today on its original site at 35th and P Streets.
The daughter of John Lalor and Catharine Moroney of Philadelphia, Maria Teresa Lalor was a boarding student at the academy. Maria continued her needlework education once she returned home to Philadelphia creating a large and impressive silk, wool, and watercolor picture at a school yet to be identified. She went on to execute two watercolor landscapes on paper sometime between 1808 and 1810. The two embroidered pictures descended in Maria’s family until they were given to the museum. The watercolors were also given to the museum reuniting Maria’s four works.

ProvenancePer donor, Mrs. John B. Earle on 12/11/93: The needlework picture descended from maker, Maria T. Lalor; to her daughter, Catharine Mary Lalor (Mrs. Joseph Gillingham Brearly, b. 1814 at "Bow Hill" in Trenton, NJ, d. 1895 at Germantown, PA); to her daughter (Alice Lalor Brearly (Mrs. Robert Potter Molten, lived at Germantown, PA); to her daughter, Helen Cuthbert Molten (Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Van Keuren, lived in Washington, D. C.); to her daughter, Frances Van Keuren (Mrs. Harold Pestalozzi); to her first cousin, Alice Lalor Molten (Mrs. John B. Earle), the donor.

History of needleworker:
Maria Teresa Lalor was born in 1793 to John Lalor and Catharine Moroney (the widow of Thomas Moroney), who wed on October 11th, 1792. They were married by Reverend F. A. Fleming at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church in Philadelphia. John Lalor ran a tavern on South Water Street in Philadelphia from 1794 until his death in 1818. His sister, Maria's aunt, established a Catholic school for young ladies, the Georgetown Academy for Young Ladies (now the Georgetown Visitation Monastery), in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. She arrived in America from Ireland in 1795 and lived in Philadelphia until 1799. Maria attended her aunt's school, although it is not known exactly when. She stitched this silk embroidery, which depicts the school, under the tutelage of Maria Sharpe sometime between 1800 and early 1804.

Maria made her First Communion on December 16th, 1804 and first received the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist when she was 11 years old. After her years of education in Georgetown, she continued her schooling in Philadelphia. When in school in Philadelphia, Maria stitched a larger and more sophisticated silk needlework picture, which is also in the Colonial Williamsburg collection (1993.601.1). She also painted two watercolors, now in the CW collection (2012-144 and 2012-145).

Maria married Barnt De Klyn Lalor (c. 1791-1856) in Saint Joseph's Church in Philadelphia on November 17th, 1811. Barnt was from Trenton, New Jersey, and was Maria's cousin several times removed. In 1784, Barnt purchased the estate of Major William Trent and named it Bow Hill after its geographical location at the southern end of Trenton. Maria and Barnt's only child was Catharine Mary Lalor, born in 1814. Maria Teresa died on December 1st, 1816. Her daughter Catharine married Joseph Gillingham Brearley (1808-1874) in 1839 and they raised two children, a son and daughter.