Mourning Picture for Mrs. Ebenezer Collins180717 x 17 " (43.2 x 43.2 cm)
Frame: 22 x 21 3/4 x 2 " (55.9 x 55.2 x 5.1 cm)Silk, chenille, metallic thread, paint, pencil, ink on silk and velvet with applied paper labelEva and Morris Feld Folk Art Acquisition Fund1981.12.8015220824Lovice CollinsTextilesThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.Paper label on back repeats inscription on tomb. Exhibition labels: American Federation of arts Whitney Museum of Art-Flowering of American Folk Art 1776-1876: 1 FEB-24 Mar 1974 Eagle Warehouse, MAFA. ULC: Green paper tape to back: penciled LR: So. Hadley July 1807; beige label T center taped to back: Signature: C. Collins-1807-South Hadley July 27, 1809/ "When such friends part/Tis the survivor dies!! Signed on silk LRC: South Hadley July 15, 1807.South HadleySouth HadleyUnited StatesMassachusettsTreasures of Folk Art: Museum of American Folk ArtPaintingsSouth HadleyAbby Wright (1774–1842) operated a female academy on the site of what is now the Mount Holyoke Observatory in South Hadley, Massachusetts, from 1803 until 1811. Wright's letters and memoirs, in the collection of the Mount Holyoke College Library, illuminate her 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. "In the process, young women learned ornamental arts, such as needlework and watercolor painting. This mourning piece for Azubah (Mrs. Ebenezer) Collins was pivotal in identifying Abby Wright's school because of the inscription that names South Hadley. Many needleworks have since been identified with the academy, including historical, religious, and allegorical pieces.
Mourning pieces combine classical funerary iconography with Christian symbolism and were a popular response to the romantic age. Although some mourning pieces commemorated well-known literary and historical figures, others were personal tributes to family members or friends. The memorial for Azubah Collins was made two years after her death by one of her daughters while she attended Abby Wright's school. Azubah Chapin (1766–1805) married Ebenezer Collins (1764–1836) in 1788. The couple had seven children, all of whom are depicted in this mourning piece. Lovice Collins is most likely to have stitched this embroidery, as she would have been around fourteen at the time it was made. Shortly after Azubah's death, the family moved from Warehouse Point, Connecticut, to South Hadley, Massachusetts. Mr. Collins set up a distillery business with Peter Allen, who married Abby Wright in 1809. The business operated successfully for many years before Collins moved his family again, this time to Hartford, where he, his second wife, and six of his children, including Lovice, are buried in the Old North Cemetery.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Mourning Piece for Mrs. Ebenezer Collins," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 306.This embroidered mourning piece was worked at the female academy operated by Abby Wright (1774–1842) on the site of what is now the Mount Holyoke Observatory, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Stylistic hallmarks of the needleworks executed under her authority include beautiful workmanship and minute seed stitches, and the use of a variety of materials including velvet, chenille and metallic threads, and spangles like those defining the urn. At this time, spangles, or sequins, were signs of wealth as they were stamped from metals, mother-of-pearl, vellum, and even gemstones. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that the faceted synthetic sequin we are familiar with today was mass-produced and made affordable to the general public.Mourning picture embroidered and painted on silk mounted with black glass eglomise mat. Image is family group of mourners composed of father and seven children standing around urn and plinth: father LS wearing black suit and holding infant daughter in white dress in front: two boys hiding faces and young daughter in black dress. Three older daughters standing behind urn in descending order L to R with handkerchiefs held to inclined heads, hair upswept with tendrils. Central tomb with paper label printed in black ink with running motif around edges: In memory of/Mrs. Azubah, wife of Mr. Ebenezer Collins, died Oct 1, 1805, aged 38./- "When such friends part, Tis the survivor dies"!! Urn on top of tomb embroidered with metallic chenille at base, finial and drapery. Two large willow trees RS and one small tree in distance, with seven smaller trees in chenille thread; seven tall trees with triangular leafage LS embroidered in concentric colors of beige to deep blue, group of red and black roofed buildings behind in distance. Two tufts of grass LS and four RS. All on embroidered ground with horizontal bands of blue, ochre, beige, green with black embroidered stippling behind. Bottom quarter covered in olive green velvet with tips of embroidered trees visible. Painted blue wash in background with white swirling clouds. Frame: Gessoed and gilded frame molding with deep cove; outer edge with tri-leaf motif. Applied rope nail to inner cove. Mitered corners, nail construction. Eglomise glass mat with gold painted bezel around round window. Back: mounted on foam core with board backing. Second board nailed on back with two hinges each on all four sides, screwed into base of frame.18071807 1981 12 8 Abby Wright (1774–1842) operated a female academy on the site of what is now the Mount Holyoke Observatory in South Hadley, Massachusetts, from 1803 until 1811. Wright's letters and memoirs, in the collection of the Mount Holyoke College Library, illuminate her 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. "In the process, young women learned ornamental arts, such as needlework and watercolor painting. This mourning piece for Azubah (Mrs. Ebenezer) Collins was pivotal in identifying Abby Wright's school because of the inscription that names South Hadley. Many needleworks have since been identified with the academy, including historical, religious, and allegorical pieces.
Mourning pieces combine classical funerary iconography with Christian symbolism and were a popular response to the romantic age. Although some mourning pieces commemorated well-known literary and historical figures, others were personal tributes to family members or friends. The memorial for Azubah Collins was made two years after her death by one of her daughters while she attended Abby Wright's school. Azubah Chapin (1766–1805) married Ebenezer Collins (1764–1836) in 1788. The couple had seven children, all of whom are depicted in this mourning piece. Lovice Collins is most likely to have stitched this embroidery, as she would have been around fourteen at the time it was made. Shortly after Azubah's death, the family moved from Warehouse Point, Connecticut, to South Hadley, Massachusetts. Mr. Collins set up a distillery business with Peter Allen, who married Abby Wright in 1809. The business operated successfully for many years before Collins moved his family again, this time to Hartford, where he, his second wife, and six of his children, including Lovice, are buried in the Old North Cemetery.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Mourning Piece for Mrs. Ebenezer Collins," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 306.This embroidered mourning piece was worked at the female academy operated by Abby Wright (1774–1842) on the site of what is now the Mount Holyoke Observatory, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Stylistic hallmarks of the needleworks executed under her authority include beautiful workmanship and minute seed stitches, and the use of a variety of materials including velvet, chenille and metallic threads, and spangles like those defining the urn. At this time, spangles, or sequins, were signs of wealth as they were stamped from metals, mother-of-pearl, vellum, and even gemstones. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that the faceted synthetic sequin we are familiar with today was mass-produced and made affordable to the general public.Mourning picture embroidered and painted on silk mounted with black glass eglomise mat. Image is family group of mourners composed of father and seven children standing around urn and plinth: father LS wearing black suit and holding infant daughter in white dress in front: two boys hiding faces and young daughter in black dress. Three older daughters standing behind urn in descending order L to R with handkerchiefs held to inclined heads, hair upswept with tendrils. Central tomb with paper label printed in black ink with running motif around edges: In memory of/Mrs. Azubah, wife of Mr. Ebenezer Collins, died Oct 1, 1805, aged 38./- "When such friends part, Tis the survivor dies"!! Urn on top of tomb embroidered with metallic chenille at base, finial and drapery. Two large willow trees RS and one small tree in distance, with seven smaller trees in chenille thread; seven tall trees with triangular leafage LS embroidered in concentric colors of beige to deep blue, group of red and black roofed buildings behind in distance. Two tufts of grass LS and four RS. All on embroidered ground with horizontal bands of blue, ochre, beige, green with black embroidered stippling behind. Bottom quarter covered in olive green velvet with tips of embroidered trees visible. Painted blue wash in background with white swirling clouds. Frame: Gessoed and gilded frame molding with deep cove; outer edge with tri-leaf motif. Applied rope nail to inner cove. Mitered corners, nail construction. Eglomise glass mat with gold painted bezel around round window. Back: mounted on foam core with board backing. Second board nailed on back with two hinges each on all four sides, screwed into base of frame.