In Praise of the Needlewoman: Embroiderers, Knitters, Lacemakers, and Weavers in Art by Gail Carolyn Sirna

In Praise of the Needlewoman: Embroiderers, Knitters, Lacemakers, and Weavers in Art is a large-format illustrated book by Gail Carolyn Sirna, with a foreword by the well-known needlework teacher Shay Pendray. It was published in 2006 by Merrell Publishers of London and New York, a house known for its beautifully produced art books.

In Praise of the Needlewoman gathers paintings of women at their needlework, from embroidery and knitting to lacemaking and weaving, and reproduces them in full colour throughout. Artists featured include John William Waterhouse, whose “I am Half Sick of Shadows,” said the Lady of Shalott graces the cover, as well as Joseph Court, Marcus Stone, Frederick C. Frieseke and Salvador Dalí. Sirna’s text sets each work in context, looking at the needlewoman both as a subject for painters and as a reflection of women’s lives over the centuries.

Needlework was for a long time one of the defining occupations of women’s domestic life, and painters returned to it again and again as a subject of quiet concentration, virtue, romance and daily labour. In Praise of the Needlewoman brings these images together in one place, making it as much a social history as an art book.

In Praise of the Needlewoman is a natural choice for embroiderers, knitters, lacemakers and weavers, for members of needlework and quilting guilds, and for anyone with an interest in Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and European painting or women’s history. It also makes a generous and attractive coffee table book or gift.

Condition – Very Good

A very good copy. The burgundy cloth boards are clean, with gilt titling on the spine, and the binding is firm. The original glossy pictorial dust jacket is present and bright, showing only minimal shelfwear to the edges. The pages are clean. A substantial book at 1.4 kg.