MCQUEEN MOURNING PICTURE, ANONYMOUS, POSSIBLY LYDIA ROYSE'S SCHOOL, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, DATED 1823

On large central plinth: To the Memory of our Father/Capt. William McQueen/who was lost at sea 1788 AE 40 years/Time cant this friend to life restore/We sigh for him who is no more.; on tall central obelisques, Samuel McQueen/died Aug 29th 1879/aged 8 years/James McQueen/died April 13 1834 age 49/Lydea his wife/died June 16th 1856 age 70 yrs."; on the plinth to the right: To the Memory of Sister/Sally McQueen/14 Feb. 1794 AE 13 yrs/Lecture and charge on providence/is coming/Who called thee blooming to/happier time; on far left back plinth, In memory of our Brother John T.W. McQueen; on far left front plinth, To the Memory of a Brother/William McQueen/Who died at sea/June 18th/A.E. 23 years; on obelisques above, McQueen/died Aug. 27th 1794(?) age 27 year/Wyllys S. McQueen/died June 16, 1924/Age 13 years/John S.W. McQueen/died April 6th 1823/age 15 year; on smallest mid. left plinth with roses: In memory of a sister/Gillongell McQueen/O.B. 28 Aug 1784(?)/A.E> 5 years.

Christie's, New York, January 21, 1989, lot 392.

Museum of Mourning Art, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

Antiques and the Arts Weekly, January 27, 1989.

In good condition, some fading, bright colors overall. Frame has been replaced.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

About Lydia Royse’s school Betty Ring has the following to say:

“The school which attracted most attention and educated a large number of girls, before 1820, was established by Mrs. Lydia Bull Royse, about 1800.

Superb needlework pictures and mourning embroideries survive from Lydia Royse’s school in Hartford. They can often be identified by the characteristic appliqued garments on the figures, or by velvet applique in the foreground of scenic compositions, and occasionally they have trees with peculiar star-shaped chenille-worked leaves. Although this school opened after Misses Patten’s school, it appears to have been widely patronized from the time that it commenced, perhaps because it was frequently advertised.” See Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850, vol. I (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1993), p. 210.