Extraordinary Patriotic Memorial Beadwork

Patriotic memorial beadwork on velvet, made by a Racine, Wisconsin woman for her husband, Vincent DiGaudio, in 1924. This well-executed and extraordinarily graphic textile features numerous potted and free-floating chrysanthemums, some of which may have been intended to represent fireworks, all arranged with great folk style. Amidst these are six flags of the Allied Forces, a son-in-service window banner (noting DiGaudio’s service in WWI), a yellow eagle beneath a yellow sun, a spotted pink deer, and fanciful medallions with illustrations of George Washington and Christopher Columbus. Along the bottom is the following text:



“Remember V.G. 1924 Racine, Wis.”



Within the center of the textile, note the misspellings of Remember as “Ramember”, Serbia as “Servia”, and the Italianization of Columbus as “Columbo”.



A bold and colorful piece of American folk art and the best of its kind that I have ever encountered.



Mounting: The textile has been mounted without glass in a black, shadowbox-style frame.



Condition: Excellent. There is a tiny amount of wear around the edge of the velvet, but there are no significant condition issues.