Matilda Stedman, Sturbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1828

This charming sampler is skillfully executed in a compartmentalized format with folk art visual elements that include a large, stunning basket of flowers, a tree, dripping with fruit and unusual vertical vines that flank her signature Matilda Stedman, Aged 9 Years.  Above this and to the right she tells us when she finished this piece . . . July 1, 1828.

Matilda was one of two children born to Joseph Stedman (b.1781) and Matilda Clark (b.1787).  She married Ward Weeks Folsom 17 Nov. 1844 and had 6 children. She is descended from the immigrant Isaac (John) Stedman who was born in Kent, England and came to America with his wife Elizabeth with the wave of early settlers in the 1630's. The 1880 US Census shows her living with her husband, her youngest son, Wilber, and older sister, Caroline, in Taylors Falls, Minnesota where she operated a boarding house.

Matilda's sampler is in excellent condition, worked in silk on unbleached linen and conserved in a lemon gold frame.  It combines the merits of both a historic New England family connection with a strikingly presentation that includes folky elements.

The sampler, which is in excellent condition, is worked in silk on linen and conservation mounted into a lemon gold frame.  It  is 17-1/4" long x 8-1/2" high (sight) and the frame adds another1-1/4" on all sides.

R07L240701
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