Sampler

Maker Rhoda Ann Fowler

PeriodCirca 1843

MediumPlied silk thread on linen

Dimensions17.13 × 16 in. (43.5 × 40.6 cm)

SignedThe sampler is signed "Wrought by / Rhoda Ann Fowler / in the 13th year of her age / Flushing L I."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask, 1946

Object number2084.35

DescriptionA large square sampler in gauzy linen, worked in plied silk thread in dark brown, medium brown, pale brown, tan, ivory, pale gray, dark green, grass green, light olive green, pale green, deep orange, pale pink, lemon yellow and goldenrod yellow. The original thread colors, which can be seen on the back of the sampler, have faded over time. Three stitches are used, including cross, chain, and tent. In the center of the sampler is a scene depicting a cat and kitten lapping water from a puddle in front of what appears to be a water pump, set against a background of greenery. Flanking the cat and kitten are several individual elements, including a butterfly, a pecking chicken on the left and a strutting rooster at right, and blue urns topped with floral bouquets. Above the central scene is the embroiderery teacher's name and a verse, reading "A. S. Fitz Gibbon, instructress / Duty like a strict preceptor / Sometimes frowns, or seems to frown / Choose her thistle for thy sceptre / While thy brow youths roses crown." On either side of the verse is a tall floral basket. A small stylized floral oval element separates the verse and the central scene. Below the cat and kitten, set within a small floral wreath composed of blue and pink morning glories, is the inscription "Wrought by / Rhoda Ann Fowler / in the 13th year of her age / Flushing L I." To the left of the wreath is worked a parrot perched upon a leafy branch, while to the right of the wreath is a parrot with outstretched wings. A single line of chain stitching forms a narrow band around the inscriptions and motifs. A wide floral border depicting blue and pink morning glories encircles all four sides of the sampler.
Curatorial RemarksFor her sampler verse, Rhoda Ann Fowler, with guidance from her teacher, A. S. Fitz Gibbon, chose a stanza from William Wordsworth's 1817 poem "The Longest Day." Wordsworth noted that he composed the majority of the poem in a single afternoon while watching his daughter Dora. Created sometime around 1843, this sampler is a marvelous example of earlier traditional sampler techniques blended with the newer Berlin work embroidery method. First developed in Germany, Berlin work relied on the use of brightly colored wool yarns coupled with commercially designed motifs and scenes printed on graphed paper. Initially hand colored, later Berlin work patterns were printed in full color, allowing embroiderers to replicate relatively sophisticated designs. Sturdier canvas replaced linen, as canvas was better able to support the heavy wool threads. Rhoda Ann, under the direction of instructress Fitz Gibbon, combined the plied silk thread and linen ground of traditional samplers with areas of dense embroidery and professionally designed patterns. Whoever she was, A. S. Fitz Gibbons was apparently well aware of both time-honored sampler embroidery as well as newer fashionable needlework trends.NotesIn spite of the extensive amount of information provided by Rhoda Ann Fowler on her sampler, it has proven difficult to learn much more about her or her instructress, A. S. Fitzgibbon. The 1870 census for Flushing, Queens County, New York, lists a "Roda" Fowler, age forty and born in New York, who was living with another woman named "Roda" Fowler, age 70, who was also born in New York. The older Rhoda is almost certainly her mother. The younger Rhoda, who was born about 1830, stated that she was thirteen years of age when the sampler was worked, making its production about the year 1843.

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