Tennessee 101: The History of Tennessee Arts and Crafts, Session 4

Tennessee Samplers: Female Education and Domestic Arts, 1800–1900
About this Event

Since 2004, the Tennessee Sampler Survey has documented 269 samplers and embroiderers from the nineteenth century, most still in private collections. Collected together, the needlework tells the stories of girls and young women as Tennessee expanded ever westwards. We will discuss the role of education on the frontier, the distinguishing characteristics of Tennessee samplers, the dispersion of patterns and motifs, and the lives of the girls and young women who produced these works of folk art.

Jennifer C. Core is the executive director of the Tennessee Historical Society. She holds masters degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Janet S. Hasson is the former curator at Belle Meade Historic Site, Nashville. She has a degree in fashion design from Washington University, St. Louis. They are the co-founders of the Tennessee Sampler Survey.