Sewing, Weaving and Spinning in Art

I am certain that a Sewing Machine would relieve as much human suffering as a hundred Lunatic Asylums, and possibly a good deal more.

Margaret Atwood
Slovenly Peter, or, Cheerful stories and funny pictures for good little folks illustrated by Hoffman Heinrich
Slovenly Peter, or, Cheerful stories and funny pictures for good little folks illustrated by Hoffman Heinrich
Man and Woman at a Spinning Wheel, Pieter Pietersz. (I), c. 1560 - c. 1570. Despite their individualized features, it is uncertain whether the depiction of this elegantly dressed couple was intended as a portrait. The scene nevertheless carries a clear message. The man holding a tankard is seducing the young woman, who stares directly at us. She must choose between the spinning wheel and the tankard, between virtue and vice.
Man and Woman at a Spinning Wheel, Pieter Pietersz. (I), c. 1560 – c. 1570. Despite their individualized features, it is uncertain whether the depiction of this elegantly dressed couple was intended as a portrait. The scene nevertheless carries a clear message. The man holding a tankard is seducing the young woman, who stares directly at us. She must choose between the spinning wheel and the tankard, between virtue and vice.
Portrait of a Woman, possibly Anne Codde, Maarten van Heemskerck, 1529
Portrait of a Woman, possibly Anne Codde, Maarten van Heemskerck, 1529
Boris Dekhterev - Sleeping Beauty spindle
Boris Dekhterev – Sleeping Beauty
Spinster in een interieur, Jan van Halbeeck, 1600 - 1630
Spinster in een interieur, Jan van Halbeeck, 1600 – 1630
Wevende vrouw, Jan van Halbeeck (possibly copy after), 1610 - c. 1680
Wevende vrouw, Jan van Halbeeck (possibly copy after), 1610 – c. 1680
Frigga Spinning the Clouds (1909) by John Charles Dollman (England, 1851–1934). The name ‘Friday’ comes from Old English meaning ‘day of Frig’
De spinster, Nicolaes Maes, 1652 - 1662
De spinster, Nicolaes Maes, 1652 – 1662
Peasant Woman Spinning, Thomas Wijck, 1640 - 1677
Peasant Woman Spinning, Thomas Wijck, 1640 – 1677
Vrouw aan spinnewiel, Justus Chevillet, after Johann Kaspar Heilmann, 1762
Vrouw aan spinnewiel, Justus Chevillet, after Johann Kaspar Heilmann, 1762
Spinnende jonge vrouw, Jan Weissenbruch, 1832 - 1880
Spinning young woman, Jan Weissenbruch, 1832 – 1880
Henry Herbert La Thangue Some Poor People Sewing
Henry Herbert La Thangue Some Poor People Sewing
Spinster aan het werk, Leopold Löwenstam, 1852 - 1898
Spinster at her work, Leopold Löwenstam, 1852 – 1898
The Juvenile almanack, or, Series of monthly emblems c1822-1824 spinning
The Juvenile almanack, or, Series of monthly emblems c1822-1824 spinning
Zeemeermin van Edam spinnend in een huisje, 1403, anonymous, 1643 - 1645
Mermaid of Edam spinning in a house, 1403, anonymous, 1643 – 1645
Spinnende vrouw in gesprek met vrouw, Johannes Alexander Rudolf Best, 1823
Spinning woman talking to woman, Johannes Alexander Rudolf Best, 1823
The spinning set up is not quite right in this illustration. The spinster would not spin the basic flax straight into a handy ball. First spin one ply onto the spool, then ply individual strands. Then wash. Then dry on a niddy noddy. Then someone holds the skeins as you wind it into a ball. Alternatively you can ball from the niddy noddy. Plus, that castle wheel seems to be missing a bobbin and flyer.
Nikifor Rashchektayev - The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish spinning
Nikifor Rashchektayev – The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish spinning
Alfred Kappes (1850–1994)
Alfred Kappes (1850–1994)
Fausto (The Devil) by Charles Gounod (1818-1893). According to Scottish folklore, tailoring was the only trade the devil could not learn. Tailors would not take him on as an apprentice, so he didn’t know to tie a knot in the thread before pulling it through fabric. Sewing for the devil was a Sisyphean task because the thread always came straight through the fabric.
Plate from Dickens's children by Jessie Willcox Smith. Published 1912
Plate from Dickens’s children by Jessie Willcox Smith. Published 1912
‘Woman Sewing.’ (1903) Joseph Stella, an Italian born American artist
Spencer Gore’s painting depicts his wife Mollie seated at her sewing table in a vividly coloured room at 6 Cambrian Road in Richmond, London in 1914
Peggy Ryan’s 1936 portrait of Dodie Masterman which won the Ida Nettleship prize at the Slade
Jack and Jill and Other Nursery Rhymes 1958 Crosspatch draw the latch sit by the fire and spin
Jack and Jill and Other Nursery Rhymes 1958 Crosspatch draw the latch sit by the fire and spin
Boerderij met spinnende vrouw, Richard Adam, 1654 - c. 1720
Farm with spinning woman, Richard Adam, 1654 – c. 1720
Spinnende vrouw voor een huis, Adriaen van Ostade, 1652
Woman spinning in front of a house, Adriaen van Ostade, 1652
Spinnende herderin, Paul van Somer (II), 1670 - 1697
Shepherdess spinning, Paul van Somer (II), 1670 – 1697
Vrouw met spinrokken en een haspel in de handen, Jacques Callot, 1630 - 1661
Woman with distaff and a reel in the hands, Jacques Callot, 1630 – 1661
Woonkamer met zoon Jantje en spinnende slavin Flora, Jan Brandes, 1784
Living room with son Jantje and spinning slave Flora, Jan Brandes, 1784
Halloween A Holiday Book by Lillie Patterson, illustrated by Gil Miret (1963) hearth
Halloween A Holiday Book by Lillie Patterson, illustrated by Gil Miret (1963)
Frederick Richardson, illustrator, spinning
Frederick Richardson, illustrator, spinning
Svetlana Kim, Spindle, shuttle and needle
Cover of the July 1909 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine
Home Arts Magazine April 1936
‘The Seamstresses.’ Raphael Soyer portrayed working-class people during the Great Depression and after
Home Arts Magazine March 1936
Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff (1824-1882, Dutch) Two Ladies At Their Sewing (not dated)
Richard Edward Miller (American painter, 1875-1943) Woman Sewing
Edouard Vuillard (French 1868–1940) The Binder 1934
Elizabeth Shippen Green, The Thousand Quilt, Harper’s Magazine, December 1904
Boys’ Life Magzine February 1922
sewing limerick with illustration by Edmund Dulac
Richard Scarry's Chipmunk's ABC by Roberta Miller, illustrated by Richard Scarry (1963) sewing
Richard Scarry’s Chipmunk’s ABC by Roberta Miller, illustrated by Richard Scarry (1963)
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban (1971)
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban (1971)
The Sewing Lesson, Jessie Willcox Smith, 1909
The Sewing Lesson, Jessie Willcox Smith, 1909
Henri Lebasque – Marthe et Nono cousant dans un intérieur, c. 1910. Oil on canvas
The Cat Woman and the Spinning Wheel and Other Stories Doctor Bird Reading Series set in Jamaica
The Cat Woman and the Spinning Wheel and Other Stories Doctor Bird Reading Series set in Jamaica
George Sand The Pink Cloud wool Svetlana Kim 1982
George Sand The Pink Cloud wool Svetlana Kim 1982
Hubert von Herkomer – Eventide – A Scene in the Westminster Union 1878. It depicts women at St James’s Workhouse, in Soho, London. Although sparsely furnished and decorated, Herkomer depicts the workhouse as a relatively comfortable place. Most of the women are sewing. They are painted as ‘crone’ archetypes, and although their mouths are closed, it appears they have long since lost most or all of their teeth.
Phoebe Wahl
Phoebe Wahl
Illustration by Kawakami Shiro ( 川上四郎 絵) forKodomo no kuni (Children's Land), c1920s and 30s sewing
Illustration by Kawakami Shiro ( 川上四郎 絵) forKodomo no kuni (Children’s Land), c1920s and 30s
Bertha Wegmann (Danish, 1847 - 1926)
Bertha Wegmann (Danish, 1847 – 1926)
Leon Frederic (Belgian,1856-1940) Lace Making
Floris Arntzenius, (1864 - 1925) Daily chores
Floris Arntzenius, (1864 – 1925) Daily chores
Norman Rockwell - Threading the needle (1922)
Norman Rockwell – Threading the needle (1922)
Samuel Uhrdin. He was born in Siljansnäs Dalarna Sweden sewing
Samuel Uhrdin. He was born in Siljansnäs Dalarna Sweden
In-The-Orphanage-at-Katwijk-Binnen-by-David-Adolph-Constant-Artz-c1870-c1890-3000x2232
In-The-Orphanage-at-Katwijk-Binnen-by-David-Adolph-Constant-Artz-c1870-c1890-3000×2232
by Anton Pieck 1895-1987
by Anton Pieck 1895-1987
Anton Franciscus Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987) night women inside sewing
Anton Franciscus Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987)
Arthur Hacker - A Difficulty 1888
Arthur Hacker – A Difficulty 1888
Woman Sewing, Carl Larsson, 1912
Woman Sewing, Carl Larsson, 1912
'Young Mother Sewing (1900)' painted by Mary Cassatt
‘Young Mother Sewing (1900)’ painted by Mary Cassatt
THE BITING EYE (1960) André François
THE BITING EYE (1960) André François
Victoria Sewing Machine advertising lithograph. Artist Imp. B. Sirven, circa 1903, France
Victoria Sewing Machine advertising lithograph. Artist Imp. B. Sirven, circa 1903, France
by Marcus Campbell, 1952, sewing machine
by Marcus Campbell, 1952, sewing machine
Art by J. Frederick Smith 1947 sewing
Art by J. Frederick Smith 1947
Alfred Smith (1854-1932, France) Women Mending Clothes
From the 1944 book What Miranda Knew illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones
From the 1944 book What Miranda Knew illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones
Nans van Leeuwen (1900 - 1995) Dutch cat women
Nans van Leeuwen (1900 – 1995), Dutch illustrator.
Frank Holl - The Song of the Shirt 1874 sewing
Frank Holl – The Song of the Shirt 1874
Peter Gut sewing
Peter Gut
Carl Larsson, (1853-1919), Sweden The girl weaving red gold bands
Carl Larsson, (1853-1919), Sweden The girl weaving red gold bands
1933 July weaving japan
1933 July
1935 July, cover by Roger Duvoisin
1935 July, cover by Roger Duvoisin, who also illustrated children’s books
Kinuko Craft - Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
Kinuko Craft – Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
Princess With A Spindle, 1896
Brünhild Schlötter for Sleeping Beauty c1938, castle wheel for a spinning wheel, less commonly depicted in picture books
Margaret at the Spinning Wheel, from Goethe’s Faust illustrated by Willy Pogány (1908)
Thomas Wilmer Dewing – The Spinner
George Sand The Pink Cloud spinning Svetlana Kim 1982
World War 2 poster sew for victory
World War 2 poster sew for victory
Stevan Dohanos 1946 valentine for mother cross stitch sewing
Stevan Dohanos 1946

The header illustration is a poster from World War 2.

CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

PAPERBACK

KINDLE EBOOK

MORE INFO

error: Content is protected