Artist/Maker

Coates, Elizabeth

Place Made

Date Made

1804

Medium

silk on linen

Dimensions

HOA: 16 3/4; WOA: 16 3/4

Accession Number

4034.1

Description

MAKER: Elizabeth Coates (1796-1843) was the daughter of Francis Coates (1769-1847/8) and Charlotte Linton (bef.1774-bef.1846). Her parents immigrated to Baltimore from Ireland around 1792 and were married by 1795. They were among the early followers of Methodism and John Wesley and by 1802 had become active members of the First Methodist Church. Francis Coates owned a grocery store and a bakery in central Baltimore from around 1796-1827. Elizabeth married Baltimore silversmith Hosea Wilson (1790-1819) in 1816. They were married only three years before Hosea’s death in 1819.

DESCRIPTION: The central motif is of flowers in an urn where the inscription “Eliza Coats 1804” reads. Four sawtooth bordered boxes surround the urn enclosing inscribed Bible verses and poems. A strawberry variation border encloses the work on four sides.

RELATED OBJECTS: There are a total of three surviving needlework embroideries stitched by Elizabeth Coates (1796-1843) and they are all in the MESDA Collection. In addition to this needlework sampler, there are two pictorial embroideries, acc. 4034.2 and acc. 4034.3.

Artist Biography

MAKER: Elizabeth Coates (1796-1843) was the daughter of Baltimore grocer Francis Coates and his wife Chralotte Linton. The sampler was completed in 1804, when Elizabeth was 8 years old. The two related needlework pictures (4034.2-3), also made by Elizabeth, were completed a few years later. She probably attended a needlework school, but we have not yet identified the institution or the teacher. In 1816 Elizabeth married Baltimore silversmith Hosea Wilson. She bore at least one son, Francis, and probably a second son, Hosea Jr. Her husband died after only three years of marriage, and Elizabeth never remarried.

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Hull McLean