Hannah D. Stile (dates unknown)
Le Corbeile de Fruitire, circa 1825
watercolor theorem painting, 8 1/4 by 11 1/4 inches
Gift of Sarah Taylor Sunderland and Glenn Henderson Sunderland, Newton, IL
inscribed "for Miss Lydia C. Sawyer"

A theorem painting was a decorative painting style popular in the mid-nineteenth century. This folk art was made by women and girls on the frontier who wanted to decorate their homes themselves. At almost every girls' school, students could learn how to make a theorem painting. Private tutors, drawing instruction books, and magazine articles also taught this type of painting. Many young painters copied prints and other paintings to practice with their watercolors and oil paints. The more talented students painted free-hand, but most students used stencils.

Young ladies studied drawing and painting at school. These skills were considered a sign of education and culture. They could be applied when the young women were sewing and embroidering linens and clothing for their hope chest and when they were decorating a home as a new wife. Stenciling was also used to decorate walls, furniture, and floors.

Have you ever displayed one of your works of art in your home or made a painting for a relative? What do the objects on display in your home tell others about you?