George Washington Memorial Needlework
Unidentified maker
Date:
c. 1799
Maker:
Unidentified maker
Dimensions:
20 1/2 H x 24 1/2 W
Materials:
Cotton on linen
Provenance:
Purchased from C. Benson Antiques of Ontario, Canada, July 4, 1990.
Credit:
Albany Institute of History & Art Purchase
Accession Number:
1991.16
Comments:
News of Washington’s death reached Albany on December 23, 1799, nine days after the revered leader had died on December 14. Most likely a young girl stitched the needlework as an expression of her grief. According to the verse she composed the memorial poem “during the ringing of the Bells and the discharge of Cannon at the news of his death.”
