Archive of A Previous Program
Saturday, December 1, 2007
 

This meeting will take place at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford.  The information below gives a more detailed description of the morning program.

Connecticut Needlework, 1740-1840:  Masterworks and New Discoveries from the Connecticut Historical Society Museum Collections
 
CHS Director of Museum Collections, Dr. Susan P. Schoelwer, will survey the rich artistic and decorative legacy of needlework produced in Connecticut prior to 1840.  During a period when paintings and prints were few and far between, a variety of needlework genres provided Connecticut households with color and artistry -- canvaswork (needlepoint), crewel embroidered bed hangings, silk embroidered pictures, samplers, memorial pictures, and whole cloth quilting.  Several genres appear to be distinctively Connecticut creations, including "mermaid" petticoats, bed rugs, crewel embroidered garments, and a unique series of religious and allegorical scenes worked during the American Revolution by Prudence Punderson of Preston.  The CHS Museum's unparalleled collection of nearly 300 examples is the starting point for a major study of regional needlework, funded by the Coby Foundation, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, to be presented in a forthcoming book and exhibition.  Program participants will get a "sneak preview" of this exciting project, with a slide presentation followed by a "behind-the-scenes" tour to see collection highlights first hand.

Directions to the Connecticut Historical Society

One Elizabeth Street at Asylum Avenue
Hartford, CT 06105
Tel: (860) 236-5621

• From Interstate Route 84, west of downtown Hartford, take exit 46 (Sisson Avenue).  Turn right at the end of the ramp onto Sisson Avenue.
• At the second traffic light turn left onto Farmington Avenue.  Go one block and turn right onto Girard Avenue (at Arrow Pharmacy).
• At the second intersection turn right onto Elizabeth Street.  The Connecticut Historical Society, with ample free parking, is the second drive on the right.

When the morning program is completed around noon, we will drive over for a holiday luncheon at the Pond House in Elizabeth Park.

Schedule for the day:  10:30 am to 2 pm
      10:30 AM to 12:00 noon     Morning program
      12:30 PM to 2 PM              Lunch, show and tell, and announcements