$2,963
Silk Needlework Memorial Picture, by Mary Ann Fessenden, Lexington, Massachusetts, c. 1809, stitched with silk threads and painted with watercolor on a silk ground, depicting a scene with a weeping willow tree over a young man and woman standing with hands over their hearts beside an urn-topped monument, with a town and trees painted in the background; the man is pointing to the monument which is inscribed "IN MEMORY of BENJ'n FESSENDEN/Obit. Ap'l 30th 1801 AEt 67 y./BARBRA FESSENDEN/Obit. Aug.'t 6th 1802. AEt 68y./The sweet remembrance of the just, Shall flourish whilst they sleep in dust," (toning, light stains), 18 1/2 x 21 1/4 in., in original black-painted and gilt eglomise mat and molded giltwood frame. Note: Benjamin Fessenden was born January 9, 1733, in Lexington, Massachusetts. His first marriage was to Hannah Lash in approx. 1756, and together they had two children. Hannah died sometime before August 7, 1760, when Benjamin married his second wife Barbara Calder, who was born in approx. 1734. Benjamin and Barbara had seven children. According to an inscription affixed to the back, the needlework was executed by the granddaughter of Benjamin and Barbara Fessenden, Mary Ann Fessenden, in 1809 at the age of eleven. Mary Ann was the child of Thomas Fessenden, the youngest child of Benjamin and Barbara. The picture reportedly depicts Mary Ann's parents at the grave of her grandparents.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2010-11-07
