Sampler

Textiles

1825

Mary Ayer (American, active 1825)
United States, Massachusetts, Charlestown

The maker of this sampler was probably Mary Ayer, who was born in Charleston, the second of 10 children born to Nathaniel Ayer (1787–1872) and Elizabeth Fosdick (1791–1872). She married George C. Stevens (1811–1882) on September 12, 1847, and had two daughters.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Textiles

Artist: Mary Ayer
Title: Sampler
Place: Massachusetts (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1825
Medium: Linen, plain weave; embroidered with silk in cross, hem, satin, split, stem, and tent stitches; French knots
Inscriptions: Restless mortals toil for naught / Bliss in vain from earth is sought / Bliss a native of the sky / Never wanders mortals try / There you cannot seek in vain / For to seek her is to gain / Wrought by Mary Ayer Charlestown Nov. 12 1825
Dimensions: 48 × 44.2 cm (18 7/8 × 17 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Elizabeth R. Vaughan
Reference Number: 1950.1129
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/71695/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 166, Department of American Arts, Apr. 4-Sep. 9, 1997.
Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 166, Department of American Arts, Oct. 1, 1998-Feb. 4, 1999.
Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 166, Department of American Arts, Aug. 3, 2001-Mar. 21, 2002.
Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Fabric of a New Nation: American Needlework and Textiles, 1776-1840, Dec. 16, 2011–Jun. 3, 2012, extended: Jul. 12–Nov. 11, 2012.

Elizabeth Vaughan (born Tyson, 1871–1949), South Berwick, ME, and Sherborn, MA, by 1949 [incoming receipt R9946, Jan. 11, 1950; copy in curatorial object file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1950.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.