Shepherd and Children

Deborah Sampson

1818 · Silk embroidered with chenille and silk threads, watercolor · The American Wing

Figures of children rarely appear in eighteenth-century needlework; the prevalent motif was the courting couple. This nineteenth-century needlework picture featuring a shepherd playing his pipe to amuse children rather than to entice his female companion may suggest that the young lady who sewed it was more interested in family than romance.

Artist

Deborah Sampson

Date

1818

Medium

Silk embroidered with chenille and silk threads, watercolor

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Paul Moore, 1945