Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy - Mount Vernon

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Image of Mount Vernon

Abigail Barker Noyes , (1795–July 8, 1864)

Mount Vernon

1812
12 1/4 in. x 16 3/4 in. (31.12 cm x 42.55 cm)

Medium and Support: Embroidery and opaque watercolor on paper and canvas
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Henry P. Moseley
Accession Number: 1940.75

Commentary

Embroidery was part of the formal education of many young women in the Northeast in the 18th- and 19th centuries. Abigail Barker Noyes learned it at Miss Patten’s boarding school in Hartford, Connecticut. Embroideries copied from prints required a high degree of skill and Noyes’s image of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s famed plantation home, was based on an engraving by Francis Jukes after a painting by Alexander Robertson, c. 1800. Both the painting and the print were likely inspired by the first president’s sudden death in 1799, which prompted the creation of images honoring his life and contributions to the country. In drawing Mount Vernon, Noyes, Jukes, and Robertson celebrated its legacy as a seat of national identity.

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Embroidery was part of the formal education of many young women in
the Northeast in the 18th- and 19th centuries. Abigail Barker Noyes learned
it at Miss Patten’s boarding school in Hartford, Connecticut. Embroideries
copied from prints required a high degree of skill and Noyes’s image
of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s famed Virginia plantation home,
was based on an engraving by Francis Jukes after a painting by Alexander
Robertson, c. 1800. Both the painting and the print were likely inspired
by the first president’s sudden death in 1799, which prompted the creation
of images honoring his life and contributions to the country. In drawing
Mount Vernon, Noyes, Jukes, and Robertson celebrated its legacy as a seat
of national identity, while ignoring the presence of the hundreds of
enslaved men, women, and children who maintained the sprawling estate.

George Washington MLC 2019

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Bartlett H. Hayes Prize Recipients

2023:

Reggie Burrows Hodges

Exhibition | Residency | Publication | Acquisition

2025:

Tommy Kha

Exhibition | Residency | Publication | Acquisition