From the 1600s until about 1830, the education of American girls emphasized reading, writing, and embroidery. For girls whose families could afford to send them to school, a finely worked embroidery which was worthy of being framed for display in her home served as a kind of diploma. It evidenced both her mastery of an important practical skill and the diligence and self-discipline that society expected of its more privileged members.

The content and style of American schoolgirl embroideries varied across both time and place. Painted with Silk will feature approximately 80 unusually beautiful and well-preserved examples of this inherently fragile art in order to explore the cultural values and norms that schoolgirl embroidery was used to teach.

Painted with silk will also include contemporary embroideries by the artist Elaine Reichek. In her work, Reichek repurposed the form of the older embroideries in order to expose and criticize the assumptions about gender, class and race that they expressed and reinforced. By juxtaposing Reichek’s embroideries with the older ones we hope to encourage our visitors to question some of their own beliefs and values. Why do we believe the things we believe? Why do we value the things we value?