WOMEN AND FANCY
Fancifulness seems most peculiar
to the taste of females
--Thomas Sheraton,
Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer's
Drawing-Book, Appendix
1793
Text Panel:
WOMEN AND FANCY
Fancy was frequently associated with women, and at the end of the eighteenth century there emerged an increased awaress of its relationship to them. Fancy work became a primary outlet for self expression and for creativity. The word was frequently applied to women's clothing, to textiles intended for clothing, and to household furnishings.
For most women, practising "fancy work" and "fancy cooking" was a half-way point between learning darning and learning philosophy. It reinforced women's sense of self esteem without raising expectations to levels that could not be fulfilled within the inevitable responsibilities of motherhood or the limited opportunities offered by eighteenth century society.

Objects:
1. THE DRAWING CLASS. 1810-1815. Watercolor on Paper. Height 14 3/8". Courtesy The Art Institute of Chicago. Acc. no. 1951.202.
2. WATERCOLOR PAINT BOX. Mixed Media. Labeled "R[udolph]. Ackerman. London. l820-40. Courtesy the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. 63.708.1
3. VENUS DRAWN BY DOVES. Attributed to Betsy B. Lathrop. Massachusetts. Circa l8l5. Watercolor and cut paper on silk. Height 15 3/4". Courtesy the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center.
4. DRESSING TABLE. Inscribed "Rachel H. Lombard, Bath [Maine] January l8l6. Painted birch and maple with white pine. Height 32 3/4". Courtesy the H. F. du Pont Winterthur Museum. 57.986.
5. WORK TABLE. Vose and Coates. Boston. 1808-1818. Painted basswood, nyssa, and aspen. Height: 29 3/8". Courtesy, Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 57.983.

Heading:Sub-heading:
MOURNING
Text Panel:
Women expressed their emotions in a number of imaginative ways and, ironically, mourning was among the most common and acceptable. It was expressed in the creation of needlework or watercolor "memorial pieces" and in the wearing of mourning jewelry and dress.Objects:
6. MEMORIAL PIECE. Attributed to Samuel Folwell and an unidentified needleworker. Philadelphia. Circa 1805. Silk embroidery with ink and watercolor on a satin-weave silk ground. 16 7/8" x 20 3/4". Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. 56.604.1.
Portrayal of the characters shown in mourning pictures tells a great deal about the acceptability of the new role of emotion. More often than not, only women and children are depicted in mourning, sometimes more than half a dozen draped over a tomb in heart-rending poses. Men usually appear stonefaced or puzzled, or sometimes busy themselves by holding an infant.
7. MOURNING BROOCH. Attributed to the School of Samuel Folwell. Philadelphia. 1800-1805. Oil on ivory. Height 3 3/16". Courtesy Margaret Beck Pritchard.
8. PORTRAIT OF SARAH BELL. William Joseph Aldridge. Fauquier County, Virginia, l808. Pastel on paper. Height 23". Courtesy The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1978-140.Display quote:
It is impossible to congratulate our fair
countrywomen too warmly on the revolution
which has of late years taken place, when
drawing and fancy work...have been raised
on the ruins of that...stupifying occupation,
needlework.
--"Observations of Fancy-Work"
Ackermann's Repository,
June 1810