Interwoven: Women’s Lives Written in Thread

Overview

Our upcoming exhibition, Interwoven: Women’s Lives Written in Thread, will highlight needlework produced by young women in New England and specifically the extraordinary collection of samplers at the Concord Museum. Featuring 30 samplers sewn in the early 1700s to mid-1800s, Interwoven will explore how young women created records of their own lives and experiences, written in thread.

Needlework and decorative arts are seeing an enormous resurgence among younger generations. This exhibition will explore the history of this creative practice and its significance to women in the 18th and 19th centuries and will include many samplers that have not previously been on view.

Learn about the education of young women in the early republic and understand how wealth, privilege and enslaved labor enabled them to pursue decorative arts. Explore the materials used in constructing samplers, such as linens, dyes and silk, and how and where these materials were produced. View samplers that demonstrate how women recorded family history through needlework.

The gallery will include areas for hands-on and interactive activities. Exhibition programs will connect the history of samplers to contemporary work through visiting artists, demonstrations, workshops, and more.

Image credit: Detail of Sampler by Phebe Bliss, 1749. Concord Museum Collection, Gift of Mrs. Richard D. Boyer; T18.

Thank you to the following Corporate Sponsors for their exhibition support: