What is Theorem Painting?

One of the first things we bought when we moved into our house in Hardwick in 2022, was this painting on fabric that now hangs above our mantle. I liked the folk art design and the frame went with our antique home. Signed “Harriet West, 1984” I did a Google Lens search to try to find out more about it and discovered it is a theorem painting. I had never heard of these types of paintings before, so I decided to learn more about it.

Theorem painting began in England in the late 1700s and became popular in New England in the early 1800s. The process involved creating stencils, or theorems, of various objects such as fruit and leaves and using those stencils to create a painting oftentimes on white velvet or other fabric. The technique was taught to girls at New England academies as a way to produce decor that was faster than embroidery.

Though it sounds simple, the technique involves planning out the design, selecting the stencils, and using them in an overlapping manner to attempt a realistic 3-d appearance. Some can be quite intricate. To see some beautiful works by contemporary artist Nancy Rosier, you can check out her online galleries.

Antique theorem paintings are quite collectible. Though the folk art technique did make a resurgence in the 20th century, I had never seen one. I’d love to know how Ms. West went about learning the art in 1984!

To learn more about theorem painting, here are a few articles and a book on the technique: