The Royal School of Art Needlework at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition 1876

For the kick-off lecture for the Penn Dry Goods Market, Dr. Lynn Hulse will explore some of the work exhibited at the World’s Fair by the School at Philadelphia and its impact on the development of artistic needlework for the home on both sides of the Atlantic.  The United States’ first official world fair, staged in Philadelphia in 1876, played host to over 30,000 exhibitors, representing 37 nations from across four continents. The New York Tribune described the display of British furniture and decorative arts in the Main Exhibition Building as ‘the most striking collections of the fair’. Of particular note was the Royal School of Needlework’s stand, a ‘magnificent tent’ constructed of purple velvet hangings and ornamented inside and out with wall hangings, portières, and window curtains together with embroidered chairs, screens, cabinets, cushions, and other soft furnishings, designed by such eminent British artists as William Morris, Walter Crane and George Frederick Bodley, among others. The RSN stand received a Certificate of Award, and in the opinion of the American designer Candace Wheeler, ‘sowed the seed’ for the development of art embroidery in the United States. Dr. Hulse is a former Archivist at the Royal School of Needlework, Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Historical Society, and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers. She is also co-founder of Ornamental Embroidery