The Litchfield Historical Society’s popular weekly walking tours have resumed with the beginning of the new season and the focus of the May 11 Walking Tour is Artists of Litchfield.
The approximately one-hour tour begins at 10 a.m. at the Litchfield History Museum, located at 7 South St. The cost for non-members is $10 and registration can be done online.
The historical society invites guests to explore Litchfield’s town center through the words, sketches, paintings, and photographs of artists and see how they saw Litchfield and expressed it through their artistic work.
The historical society reopened April 27 with the launch of a new exhibit, With Their Busy Needles: Samples and the Girls Who Made Them.
It showcases works from the sampler collection of Alexandra Peters, displayed alongside Litchfield examples from the historical society’s textile collection.
Peters, a sampler historian and collector, serves as guest curator of the exhibit and will present a lecture entitled “Know My Name: How Schoolgirl Samplers Created a Remarkable History” on Sunday, May 5, at 3 p.m. at the Litchfield History Museum.
Peters will discuss samplers from her collection, how she became a collector, and why schoolgirl needleworks are so important in our understanding of women in American history.
Registration is requested for in-person attendees and those unable to attend in person can watch on Zoom. Click here to register.
The suggested donation for the lecture is $10
Samplers are more than thread stitched through cloth, the historical society explains in detailing the new exhibit. As objects of art, samplers tell stories of creativity, instruction, and skilled work. As historical records, they document the lives and experiences of thousands of young women, histories that might otherwise remain unknown.
With Their Busy Needles: Samplers and the Girls Who Made Them will remain display at the Litchfield History Museum through Dec. 1. Admission is free.