Willard Patient Dress / Part 1
There are quite a few items in the Willard collection at the New York State Museum that are not part of my suitcases documentation. These “institutional” pieces were too numerous to photograph, but this embroidered dress just had to be documented. The work was done by a patient who is not identified, but I am in touch with some folks who worked at Willard who might know who created this.
This will be a photo heavy post with less text than in my usual posts, but the details in the dress are amazing and I wanted to share as many as I could.
It wasn’t just the amazing designs; the precision of the embroidery knocked us out.
There were a good number of cats on the dress.
This one seems to be hovering over a plant.
Not sure what is going oh above, but the orange is such a beautiful color.
This looks to me like a cat but what is it doing? Any thoughts?
I love how this person’s hair is rendered.
The orange flower in her hair is lovely.
These little flowers are so delicate.
The watch and ring on this figure are such a nice touch.
Thanks so much to Peg Ross for helping me set the dress up in order to photograph it. I am terrible at stuff like this, and as usual, she really made it happen. And if I remember correctly, Connie Houde from the museum was also there to assist.
I hope to post the back of the dress (I want to keep calling it a shift; is that correct?) sometime soon. I leave Atlanta later today but will head out to the Botanical Garden before my flight. Thanks for following.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
The cat is wagging its tail — embroidered to show motion.
I love this– am enamored of the black balloony pants the man is wearing.
Those pants are awesome!!
I love this. My mother and grandmother used to do embroidery and painting similar to this. My mom was an art teacher for 50 years and my grandmother was a seamstress. This is a beautiful glimpse into the artistic sensibilities of previous generations.
So fascinating! My first thought on the cat (based on the plant shown earlier) was that it was popping out of a watering can. Although now that I read the first comment about a tail wagging, I like that idea too.
Yes, I’d call it a shift. Thanks so much for sharing!
No, I agree, the cat is in the watering can and water is spurting ☺
Absolutely gorgeous, Jon! I want this dress. And I believe the cat is holding a watering can and watering the woman. Giving her strength, if you will! That was my thought after seeing the cat in the flowers.
Also reminds me of illustrations from Bangladesh – sort of like this one: https://www.google.com/search?q=bangladesh+embroidery&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=ivmn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjujqrc5MnSAhVmsVQKHTSMAG8Q_AUIBygB&biw=375&bih=559#imgrc=RDUCbAiZ1ViamM:
Amazing and heartrendering. Thank you.
Thanks Penelope! I really appreciate that you are following along and love your comment about watering the woman. So thoughtful. Cheers, Jon
I also thought the cat was watering the woman, but also thought that the water would then be blue.
It is very beautiful.
I can’t tell you how much I love this. I love to embroider and so appreciate it when I come across examples of it in resale shops and yard sales– I try to snatch them all up. Thank you for posting– It’s lovely!
I love this. If it was available as wall art or wallpaper I’d buy it.
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i was thinking that the woman with the high neck collar dress was cooking… i thought that was a pot on the stove maybe… i noticed the ring and watch also… so that detail was what the person remembered most about the person she embroidered.. i had pillow cases like this that i only bring out when my family has come. I have been told back in the day this was what one did as well as quiting.
It’s haunting.
thanks John for photographing this so well and in so much detail. Yes I was there that day. It is one of my favorit pieces in the collection.
[…] is the back of the dress that I posted the other […]