Artwork
Hector Taking Leave of His Family
Hector Taking Leave of His Family is a watercolor work on paper by the American Folk Art artist Lucy C. Huntington. It dates from 1810 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
This isn’t a painting, it’s embroidered silk with watercolor shadows.
Hector in a fancy silk coat stands by a door, holding his helmet. His wife and baby reach for him. The room glows with gold thread and sequins. You can almost hear the quiet before he leaves.
This isn’t a painting, it’s embroidered silk with watercolor shadows. A rare mix of sewing and paint, made in 1810. The artist used tiny stitches to show light on fabric.
Look up Lucy C. Huntington to see more of her work.
Subject & Meaning
The work illustrates an episode from classical epic in which a soldier is shown with a woman and an infant within a domestic interior. The composition places the martial figure alongside the female and child, suggesting a moment of farewell that contrasts heroic duty with familial bonds. Executed in silk, metallic thread, sequins, and watercolor, the delicate medium heightens the scene's emotional resonance, while the indoor setting underscores the personal, intimate dimension of the legendary narrative.
Technique & Style
Hector Taking Leave of His Family is a silk embroidered picture executed in 1810 by Lucy C. Huntington. The work is worked in silk and metallic threads, supplemented with sequins, and incorporates watercolor, producing a richly textured surface that combines painted and stitched elements. Classified within the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, the embroidery deploys these varied materials to render an interior setting populated by figures drawn from classical epic, including a soldier, man, woman, and infant.
The combination of silk thread, metallic accents, and applied sequins against a watercolor ground gives the composition both pictorial depth and tactile ornamentation suited to its narrative subject.
History & Provenance
Hector Taking Leave of His Family was created in 1810 by Lucy C. Huntington, executed in silk embroidery with silk and metallic threads, sequins, and watercolor. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is recorded under accession number 1971.62 and classified within the museum's American Wing, the curatorial department devoted to American decorative arts and material culture. No further details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or exhibition history are documented in the available sources.
Overview
"Hector Taking Leave of His Family" is an intricate textile artwork created by Lucy C. Huntington in 1810. This piece uniquely combines silk embroidery with watercolor to depict a poignant mythological scene. It portrays the Trojan hero Hector's emotional farewell to his wife and infant son, capturing a moment of domestic intimacy before his departure for battle. The work showcases a distinctive blend of fine needlework and painting techniques.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucy Huntington stitched scenes with silk and sequins in the early 1800s. She embroidered scenes on fabric, like the silk-thread “Hector Taking Leave of His Family” from 1810, blending thread, paint, and sparkle. The…
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