Mourning Sampler
c. 1815
Made by the Smith and Humphreys Families Miss Field's School Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Massachusetts
The two figures in this sampler mourn the deaths of Hannah (Phipps) Smith (1763–1813) and her grandson William Smith Humphreys (1810–1811), the son of Catherine Smith Humphreys (1786–?) and George Humphreys, who married in Boston in 1804. It was made by an unidentified member of either the Smith or Humphreys families. The death of George Washington in 1799 gave rise to a number of mourning or memorial embroideries in honor of the first president. This led to the popularity of embroidered mourning or memorial works dedicated to departed family members, and they became a fashionable way to express grief and remembrance.
Linen, plain weave; embroidered with silk floss in tent, cross, long and a mixture of stem, whip and couching stitches