VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE Litchfield Historical Society Exhibit (see more exhibit information below)

Litchfield Historical Society Exhibit, April 26 through December 1, 2024
The exhibit “With Their Busy Needles” opens with a reception on Friday, April 26, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Peters will give a talk called “Know My Name: How Schoolgirls’ Samplers Created a Remarkable History” at the museum on Sunday, May 5, at 3 p.m.

Samplers are more than thread stitched through cloth. 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 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.
7 South Street
Litchfield, CT 06759
HOURS: Wednesday through Sunday 11-5

American Folk Art Museum, November 15, 2023, through March 24, 2024 

Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North will be on view at the American Folk Art Museum (2 Lincoln Sq., Columbus Ave. at W. 65th St.) from November 15, 2023, through March 24, 2024. 

A sampler from Alexandra's collection, made by a free black girl from Brunswick, Maine, is part of the exhibit "Unnamed Figures"

“Comprised of approximately 125 works, including key loans of overmantel paintings, portraits, needlework, works on paper, photographs, and other vernacular forms, the show will focus on representations of Black figures in New England and the Mid-Atlantic from the late 17th through early 19th century. The exhibition challenges conventional narratives that have minimized early Black histories in the North, revealing the complexities and contradictions of the region’s history.”

Litchfield History Museum, opened April 23, 2023

"To Come to a Land of Milk and Honey: Litchfield and the Connecticut Western Reserve"

“Tells the story of the Reserve’s lasting legacy and the experiences of the men, women, and children affected by westward migration. Three of Alexandra's samplers from the Western Reserve were on loan to the exhibit.“

Sharon Historical Society, June 22- October 17, 2022

“The Sampler Collection of Alexandra Peters”
58 works on display

”The Sharon Historical Society & Museum is pleased to announce the exhibit, Sharon Collects: Samplers from the Collection of Alexandra Peters. Before adding a sampler to her collection, Sharon, CT resident Alexandra Peters researched the lives of the sampler makers and the world revealed by their needlework. The girls in this collection were touched by abolition, the Underground Railroad, and the anti-slavery movement. A few girls settled the Connecticut Western Reserve, others were educated at the three exceptional academies for girls in northwest Connecticut. Quaker girls created elegant darning samplers, and older girls stitched elaborate tales from classical history and literature. Some girls in England sewed world maps. Other girls in the United States documented their family histories, sisters worked companion samplers, and the women of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s family subtly influenced his storytelling with their needlework. Writing with needles, these sampler creators left us a powerful legacy that opens a window into the early education of girls, who their families were, and how they documented their very existence.”