Hanging
1916
Constance Smedley Armfield (English, 1875-1941) Maxwell Ashby Armfield (English, 1881-1972) United States
United States
Husband and wife as well as artistic partners, Maxwell and Constance Armfield were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. They collaborated on projects in a variety of media, including embroidery. From 1915 to 1922, the Armfields lived in the United States, dividing their time between New York and California. This decorative hanging presents a lunette-shaped scene of two exotically dressed human figures and a goat walking through a forest. The image is rendered in the flat, unshaded, naïve style characteristic of Arts and Crafts needlework. The presence of both artists' monograms and the year 1916 indicate that they made this piece during their American years.
-A Global View: Recent acquisitions of Textiles, 2012-2016, April 8-September 5, 2016
Linen, plain weave; appliqued with linen, plain weaves; embroidered with silk floss in long and short, chain, buttonhole, Cretan variation, scroll, ladder, cross, and detached cross stitches; laid work and couching; French knots; lined with linen, plain weave