Needlework Picture of "Cymbeline"

Early nineteenth-century New England schoolgirl embroideries often adapted prints—from classical mythology and Shakespeare—to illustrate sublime moral ideas or dramatic moments. Susanna Rowson (c. 1762–1824), an English-born American actress, teacher, and author, founded Boston's Young Ladies Academy, one of the nation's earliest secondary schools for girls. She operated the school until 1822, and numerous student embroideries survive from her school.

Mary W. Tyler (later Brown) stitched this embroidered picture of a Shakespearean scene while a student at Rowson's Academy around 1809. Born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Tyler later settled in Boston. She adapted a stipple engraving by Thomas Burke to create this theatrical image. Posthumus ties a keepsake around Imogen's wrist behind a pillar and glances over his shoulder. On the right, the king throws aside a curtain, catching them in the act. The embroidery features hand-painted faces—likely done by a local artist—and retains its original reverse-painted glass mat with lettered inscription. Tyler earned a medal for her embroidery at the academy, presumably for this work.