Sampler

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Ann Sellers was the unmarried daughter of Elizabeth Coleman and Nathan Sellers (1751–1830), who married on May 4, 1779, in Philadelphia. Although a Quaker, he joined George Washington’s army and fought in the Revolutionary War. This sampler came from the estate of Mary Morley Sellers (d. 1940). The donor’s husband, Frank Harold Sellers (1864–1938) was the great-grandson of Coleman Sellers (1781–1834)—who was married to Sophonisba Peale (1786–1859), the daughter of the artist Charles Wilson Peale (1741–1827)—the brother of Ann Sellers. The elegant design of the sampler can be attributed to Ann’s Quaker upbringing. The verse on the sampler is from “An Invocation to the Almighty,” attributed to Joseph Brown Ladd (1764–1786).

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