With Needle and Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley * 2 October 2010 - 30 January 2011 * Florence Griswold Museum * Old Lyme CT

This looks like a gem of an exhibition - certainly not to be missed if you can possibly help it. The Connecticut River Valley was one of the most important centers in America for the teaching and production of embroidered pictures by girls and young women in private academies during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. As the first exhibition to examine the subject of Connecticut River Valley needlework in depth, With Needle and Brush contributes to the understanding of the traditions of needlework and provides insight into the nature of women’s schooling before the advent of widespread public education. Guest-curated by needlework experts Carol and Stephen Huber, this exhibition of approximately sixty embroideries, watercolor sketches, and portraits will draw extensively on works from private collections, many never before shown publicly.
The exhibition illuminates the evolution of needleworking techniques as well as tracing the distinctive styles and subjects associated with the mistresses of various girls’ schools throughout the Connecticut River Valley. For more details, just click here.