Sampler
Maker
Elizabeth A. Leonard
Period1837
MediumPlied silk thread on linen
DimensionsSight: 17.5 × 17 in. (44.5 × 43.2 cm)
SignedThe sampler is signed "Elizabeth A. Leonard / Aged 10."
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1933
Object number492
DescriptionWorked on natural linen ground, this square sampler is embroidered in plied silk thread in dark green, medium green, pale green, sky blue, bright red, salmon, pale pink, brown, and off-white, all in cross stitch. Along the top of the sampler runs an upper case alphabet, with A through U on the first line, and V through Z centered on the second line. A lower case alphabet flanks V through Z, with a through p at left and q through z and an ampersand at right. Below the alphabet is the signature line "Elizabeth A Leonard / Aged 10 Years." The signature is flanked on both sides by mirror images of a perching blue bird atop a sturdy tree stump. Below is a placid landscape scene, with a leafy tree depicted in the center of the scene. In the background, a church or other formal public building is at left, while a simple house with a smoking chimney can be seen at right. The structures nestle in a grassy setting, with a small stream and ornamental bridge in the foreground. Small floral sprays flank both buildings. Above each building is a two-handled floral basket motif. Single small motifs are worked within the sky, including blue flowers and tiny crosshatch diamond elements. A wide floral vine, depicting full-blown roses, borders the entire sampler. A single row of cross stitch is worked along the very edges of the linen panel. The linen panel itself is hemmed along the left and right edges with the selvedge edge visible along the top and bottom edges.Curatorial RemarksElizabeth A. Leonard completed this beautifully worked and well designed sampler at the age of ten in 1837. Front and center in this needlework piece is the peaceful landscape depicting buildings and grassy lawns with a stream, a bridge, and a tree. Just a few years after Elizabeth finished her work, samplermaking underwent a rapid and profound change. The introduction of brightly-colored wool embroidery yarns, combined with commercially designed and printed graphed patterns, meant that traditional samplers, with their strings of alphabets, verses, and decorative elements were largely replaced. Schoolgirl needlework of the following decades focused on large-scale pictorial images and bold floral and foliate motifs in bright colors in simple stitching for visual impact. The fact that Elizabeth's own sampler, particularly the bright red, rich green, and clear blue, still retains a good deal of its original coloration indicates the impact newly introducted chemical dyes had on embroidery threads at this time.NotesElizabeth Ann Leonard was born in Middletown, Monmouth County, on 13 March 1827, the sixth and youngest child of Capt. William Leonard (1787 - 1873) and Elizabeth Applegate (1792 - 1836.) The family were early settlers of the area now known as Leonardo and Atlantic Highlands. They were also members of the Middletown Baptist Church. Elizabeth Ann's mother passed away the year before her namesake daughter worked the sampler. Elizabeth died on 24 September 1888, having lived together for several years with her sister Mary Leonard McClane (1813 - 1893). Her obituary that appeared in the Red Bank Register on 28 September stated that "Miss Leonard left quite a little fortune. She was a maiden lady and was 62 years of age." An epitaph on her tombstone in Fair View Cemetery in Middletown reads, "She hath done what she could."
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