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1938.604.1, Needlework Picture
Needlework Memorial, Liberty Crowning Washington, by Catherine Warner
1938.604.1, Needlework Picture

Needlework Memorial, Liberty Crowning Washington, by Catherine Warner

Dateca. 1809
Artist/Maker Catherine Townsend Warner (1785-1828)
OriginAmerica, Rhode Island, Warwick
MediumSilk and metallic embroidery threads and metallic cord with watercolor, gouache, and ink on a silk ground (fiber identification by eye)
DimensionsActual: OH 16 3/8" x OW 13 3/16" Framed: OH 22 1/4" x OW 19 1/4".
Credit LineGift of Florence R. Kenyon
Object number1938.604.1
DescriptionThis is a rectangular embroidery executed in shades of blue, green, cream, brown, black, and pink silk embroidery threads and paint on a silk ground. The memorial picture depicts a young woman (Liberty) standing before a bust of George Washington on a marble plinth. She holds a laurel wreath over the head of the bust with her (anatomical) right hand. In her other hand she holds a liberty cap on a pole and a trumpet. She stands on the British flag, which lies on the ground. At right a tree stands on a rise of ground and, in the distance, several ships are seen on a body of water. A blue and cream canopy with a bow at top is situated over the head of the bust. Behind the canopy is a brown neoclassical structure. The following inscription is painted onto the replacement glass mat: “THE GENIUS OF AMERICA TRAMPLING ON THE BRIISH COLOURS-/-AND PLACING THE LAUREL WREATH ON THE HEAD OF WASHINGTON.*./-CATHERINE, T, WARNER.”

The memorial is in a gilded wooden frame with a replaced reverse-painted glass mat.

Stitches: couched and satin
Label TextCatherine Townsend Warner's embroidery is one of several recorded to date that form a recognizable subgroup within the larger body of embroidery that originated in the Rhode Island schools. The figure crowning Washington's bust is related to a personification of Liberty appearing in a 1796 engraving of Edward Savage's, but the trumpet she holds is usually associated with Fame. Catherine may have had both concepts in mind when she worked her intricate tribute to the country's first president.

Stitched in Time:
Though allegorical motifs were common in English and American needlework, American patriotic symbols were incorporated in needlework designs in the decades surrounding the Revolutionary War. The figure of Liberty, inspired by Edward Savage's 1796 engraving of "Liberty in the Form of the Goddess of Youth," was frequently used to personify the United States. Young women used the classically inspired figure, paired with cornucopias, bald eagles, flags, and liberty caps, to express their patriotism.

Catherine Townsend Warner combined a tribute to Liberty with a memorial to George Washington. Catherine celebrated the first President's triumph by depicting Liberty crowning him with laurels. Liberty's trumpet references the allegorical figure of Fame, who is typically associated with the instrument.
InscribedWording on the replacement glass mat reads "THE GENIUS OF AMERICA TRAMPLING ON THE BRITISH COLOURS-/-AND PLACING THE LAUREL WREATH ON THE HEAD OF WASHINGTON.*./-CATHERINE. T. WARNER."
MarkingsThe original printed framer's label reads "PETER GRINNELL AND SON, /Main-street, Providence, opposite the Providence Bank, / OFFER FOR SALE. / A COMPLETE assortment of PAINTS, OIL, WINDOW GLASS, / VARNISHES, and/ SHIP-CHANDLERY/ ALSO, / Looking=Glasses, / framed in the newest and most elegant style, and are warranted to bear the strict. / est examination. With every other article usually called for in a Ship-Chand-/lery or Paint Store, as cheap as at any store in the State./ They execute all kinds of/ HOUSE, SHIP, SIGN and ORNAMENTAL PAINTING,/ polishing, and re-silvering old Looking-Glasses, Oil and Burnish-Gilding, in all/ their various branches. Embroidery, Looking-Glasses and Pictures of every/ description, framed with enamelled glasses, as usual./ All orders from the country punctually attended to, with a liberal allowance/made to those who purchase quantities./ PRINTED AT THE PHENIX OFFICE."
Provenanceca. 1809, made by Catherine Townsend Warner (Warwick, RI); 1828, passed by descent to Ann Elizabeth Harrison (Warwick, RI); 1914, passed by descent to Florence R. Kenyon (Providence, RI); 1938 given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)