Needlework Picture180817 1/2 x 15 1/2 " (44.5 x 39.4 cm)
Frame: 23 1/8 x 21 1/8 x 1 1/4 " (58.7 x 53.7 x 3.2 cm)Silk, metallic thread, spangles, watercolor on silkMuseum purchase with funds from the Jean Lipman Fellows, 19961996.9.101537782326Lucina HudsonTextilesThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.Liberty NeedleworkLiberty NeedleworkLiberty NeedleworkSouth HadleySouth HadleyUnited StatesMassachusettsTextilesSouth Hadley
"Remember the ladies," Abigail Adams adjured her husband, John Adams, in 1776. She was advocating equal freedoms for women in the newly conceived United States. What developed instead was a system of Republican Motherhood in which education for women was not an end in itself but was intended to equip mothers to raise moral sons, the future leaders of the nation. Lucina Hudson of Oxford, Massachusetts, was twenty-one years old when she stitched this accomplished silk needlework. She was at the upper age limit of students who attended the school operated by Abby Wright (1774–1842) in South Hadley, and of an age to knowingly comply with the ideals of Republican Womanhood expressed in Wright’s educational goal to lead young women "in the paths of rectitude and virtue, that they may establish an unblemished reputation and become ornaments to society." Although such needleworks were often intended as evidence of taste and accomplishment aimed at attracting the affections of a husband, Lucina remained unmarried and died in Ellisburgh, New York, where her family lived around 1823.
In 1777, Lucina’s father, William, served in the War of Independence as a corporal in Colonel Jonathan Holman’s regiment under Captain Jeremiah Kingsbury, whose daughter Hannah also stitched a Liberty needlework at the Abby Wright School. Lucina was thus one of several young women from Oxford whose families were closely allied through the war effort and who were privy to firsthand narratives of the war from family members. This intimate connection may have contributed to her rendition of the allegorical figure of Liberty as an approachable contemporary, carrying a cornucopia in one arm and a liberty pole in the other topped by a Phrygian cap, the ancient headgear associated with liberty, and a striped banner literally spangled with applied sequins. Nevertheless, the long-established use of the female figure to symbolically embody civic values was a double-edged device that both elevated and constrained, as many of the freedoms such figures represented were not extended to women themselves.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Liberty Needlework," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020. Standing figure of liberty holding cornucopia in one hand and a pole with liberty cap flying the American flag in other hand. Stitched at Abby Wright school in South Hadley, Massachusetts. (see Collins)Following the American Revolution, and in the spirit of Republican Motherhood, numerous academies of learning for girls and young women were established throughout the Northeast. It was the goal of such schools to create a strong sense of patriotic nationhood in a literate body of young women versed in history, geography, some mathematics, and tasteful ornamental arts, filtered through Christian values and ethical philanthropy. Many of the girls attending these schools had experienced the war as young children, or through firsthand accounts of family members.
Lucina Hudson was one of several girls from Oxford, Massachusetts, who attended Abby Wright’s (1774–1842) school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and whose fathers had fought for freedom. The ornamental exercises practiced at the school were typical in choice of topics, from biblical chapters to historical scenes and mourning pieces. This is one of at least five examples of Liberty made under the guidance of Wright. It is interesting that the allegorical figure of Liberty is not represented as an unattainable ideal but as an accessible contemporary. This Liberty is a pretty young woman with her hair ringleted in a classical style, fashionably garbed à la grecque, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a Phrygian cap, a close-fitting hat that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liberty Needlework,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the growing taste for classical forms and ideas in architecture, decorative arts, and fashion combined with Enlightenment thought to produce an interesting emphasis on materials that reflected light. In needlework this meant a dramatic transition from woolen crewels worked on linen foundations to silken threads stitched on silk. This allegorical representation of American Liberty was made by Lucina Hudson, whose father had fought in the Revolutionary War. In Hudson’s needlework, the figure of Liberty is not a lofty ideal but a contemporary, a personalized depiction of a charming and fashionable young woman with ringleted hair, wearing a classical-inspired dress, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a pileus, a close-fitting cap that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty. The pole also flies a flag with colorful stripes and applied spangles. The use of metallic threads, glossy light-colored silk threads, and spangles would have caught the flicker of candlelight when displayed to advantage in the maker’s home.Following the American Revolution, and in the spirit of Republican Motherhood, numerous academies of learning for girls and young women were established throughout the Northeast. It was the goal of such schools to create a strong sense of patriotic nationhood in a literate body of young women versed in history, geography, some mathematics, and tasteful ornamental arts, filtered through Christian values and ethical philanthropy. Many of the girls attending these schools had experienced the war as young children, or through firsthand accounts of family members.
Lucina Hudson was one of several girls from Oxford, Massachusetts, who attended Abby Wright’s (1774–1842) school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and whose fathers had fought for freedom. The ornamental exercises practiced at the school were typical in choice of topics, from biblical chapters to historical scenes and mourning pieces. This is one of at least five examples of Liberty made under the guidance of Wright. It is interesting that the allegorical figure of Liberty is not represented as an unattainable ideal but as an accessible contemporary. This Liberty is a pretty young woman with her hair ringleted in a classical style, fashionably garbed à la grecque, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a Phrygian cap, a close-fitting hat that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liberty Needlework,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. Majority of needleworks stitched at school were mourning pictures, but biblical, historical, and allegorical scenes were also created. Americans were searching for national identity for their new country at the beginning of the nineteenth century and they looked to ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. This classical influence is evident in this needlework. Two other students are known to have completed pictures of Liberty while attending Abby Wright's school. Lusina Hudson was born in Oxford, Ma. Shortly after her needlwork was done, family moved to Ellisburg, Jefferson County, NY, where she died at unknown date.Liberty NeedleworkLiberty NeedleworkLiberty NeedleworkLiberty Needlework18081808 1996 9 1
"Remember the ladies," Abigail Adams adjured her husband, John Adams, in 1776. She was advocating equal freedoms for women in the newly conceived United States. What developed instead was a system of Republican Motherhood in which education for women was not an end in itself but was intended to equip mothers to raise moral sons, the future leaders of the nation. Lucina Hudson of Oxford, Massachusetts, was twenty-one years old when she stitched this accomplished silk needlework. She was at the upper age limit of students who attended the school operated by Abby Wright (1774–1842) in South Hadley, and of an age to knowingly comply with the ideals of Republican Womanhood expressed in Wright’s educational goal to lead young women "in the paths of rectitude and virtue, that they may establish an unblemished reputation and become ornaments to society." Although such needleworks were often intended as evidence of taste and accomplishment aimed at attracting the affections of a husband, Lucina remained unmarried and died in Ellisburgh, New York, where her family lived around 1823.
In 1777, Lucina’s father, William, served in the War of Independence as a corporal in Colonel Jonathan Holman’s regiment under Captain Jeremiah Kingsbury, whose daughter Hannah also stitched a Liberty needlework at the Abby Wright School. Lucina was thus one of several young women from Oxford whose families were closely allied through the war effort and who were privy to firsthand narratives of the war from family members. This intimate connection may have contributed to her rendition of the allegorical figure of Liberty as an approachable contemporary, carrying a cornucopia in one arm and a liberty pole in the other topped by a Phrygian cap, the ancient headgear associated with liberty, and a striped banner literally spangled with applied sequins. Nevertheless, the long-established use of the female figure to symbolically embody civic values was a double-edged device that both elevated and constrained, as many of the freedoms such figures represented were not extended to women themselves.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Liberty Needlework," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020. Standing figure of liberty holding cornucopia in one hand and a pole with liberty cap flying the American flag in other hand. Stitched at Abby Wright school in South Hadley, Massachusetts. (see Collins)Following the American Revolution, and in the spirit of Republican Motherhood, numerous academies of learning for girls and young women were established throughout the Northeast. It was the goal of such schools to create a strong sense of patriotic nationhood in a literate body of young women versed in history, geography, some mathematics, and tasteful ornamental arts, filtered through Christian values and ethical philanthropy. Many of the girls attending these schools had experienced the war as young children, or through firsthand accounts of family members.
Lucina Hudson was one of several girls from Oxford, Massachusetts, who attended Abby Wright’s (1774–1842) school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and whose fathers had fought for freedom. The ornamental exercises practiced at the school were typical in choice of topics, from biblical chapters to historical scenes and mourning pieces. This is one of at least five examples of Liberty made under the guidance of Wright. It is interesting that the allegorical figure of Liberty is not represented as an unattainable ideal but as an accessible contemporary. This Liberty is a pretty young woman with her hair ringleted in a classical style, fashionably garbed à la grecque, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a Phrygian cap, a close-fitting hat that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liberty Needlework,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the growing taste for classical forms and ideas in architecture, decorative arts, and fashion combined with Enlightenment thought to produce an interesting emphasis on materials that reflected light. In needlework this meant a dramatic transition from woolen crewels worked on linen foundations to silken threads stitched on silk. This allegorical representation of American Liberty was made by Lucina Hudson, whose father had fought in the Revolutionary War. In Hudson’s needlework, the figure of Liberty is not a lofty ideal but a contemporary, a personalized depiction of a charming and fashionable young woman with ringleted hair, wearing a classical-inspired dress, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a pileus, a close-fitting cap that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty. The pole also flies a flag with colorful stripes and applied spangles. The use of metallic threads, glossy light-colored silk threads, and spangles would have caught the flicker of candlelight when displayed to advantage in the maker’s home.Following the American Revolution, and in the spirit of Republican Motherhood, numerous academies of learning for girls and young women were established throughout the Northeast. It was the goal of such schools to create a strong sense of patriotic nationhood in a literate body of young women versed in history, geography, some mathematics, and tasteful ornamental arts, filtered through Christian values and ethical philanthropy. Many of the girls attending these schools had experienced the war as young children, or through firsthand accounts of family members.
Lucina Hudson was one of several girls from Oxford, Massachusetts, who attended Abby Wright’s (1774–1842) school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and whose fathers had fought for freedom. The ornamental exercises practiced at the school were typical in choice of topics, from biblical chapters to historical scenes and mourning pieces. This is one of at least five examples of Liberty made under the guidance of Wright. It is interesting that the allegorical figure of Liberty is not represented as an unattainable ideal but as an accessible contemporary. This Liberty is a pretty young woman with her hair ringleted in a classical style, fashionably garbed à la grecque, and carrying a liberty pole topped by a Phrygian cap, a close-fitting hat that was worn in ancient Rome and symbolized liberty.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liberty Needlework,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. Majority of needleworks stitched at school were mourning pictures, but biblical, historical, and allegorical scenes were also created. Americans were searching for national identity for their new country at the beginning of the nineteenth century and they looked to ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. This classical influence is evident in this needlework. Two other students are known to have completed pictures of Liberty while attending Abby Wright's school. Lusina Hudson was born in Oxford, Ma. Shortly after her needlwork was done, family moved to Ellisburg, Jefferson County, NY, where she died at unknown date.