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Needle's I: Stitching Identity
  • Welcome to Needle’s I
  • Memory
  • Craft
  • Family
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Needle's I: Stitching Identity

Craft

Craft

Stitching is a creative act, linking tradition and innovation. A basic stitch makes sublime art in a humble mend. The needlework in this section demonstrates extraordinary skill and artistry. 


Select an image to learn more.

  • Needlework picture, whitework
    Elizabethan Lady
    Erica Wilson
    The Royal School of Needlework, London, England; 1945-48
    Linen
    Gift of The Family of Erica Wilson 2015.0047.005.001
  • Dechado  
    Maria Ana Coronado  
    Mexico; 1841  
    Cotton, silk 
    Bequest of Donald H. Kerchner 2021.0012.001 
  • Needlework picture
    Ann Flower
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1755
    Linen, silk
    Museum purchase with funds provided by the Henry Francis du Pont Collectors Circle 2017.0022a
  • Pay Gap Demographics 
    Equal Pay Days 
    Workplace Harassment  
    Olivia Johnson  
    Portland, Oregon; 2020 
    Cotton embroidery floss, Aida cloth, embroidery hoop, felt  
    Courtesy of Olivia Johnson 
  • Undergarment 
    Mended by Jessie Whitley  
    Lamar County, Alabama; 1935 
    Cotton 
    Private collection 
  • Case 
    Unidentified Huron-Wendat artist  
    Quebec, Canada; 1870–1900  
    Museum purchase 1979.0220 

Needles are powerful tools for making and metaphor. We stitch clothes and relationships together, rip apart seams and arguments, mend holes and hearts. With needles, we make and re-make ourselves and the world around us, yet most of that work has historically remained invisible, or at least unrecognized. The Needle’s I: Stitching Identity traces threads of memory, craft, and family that connect needleworkers past and present, finding an “I” in the needle’s proverbial eye. 

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  • Welcome to Needle’s I
  • Memory
  • Craft
  • Family
  • Works