Embroidered Coverlet c. 1936

This Embroidered Coverlet was stitched by Jules Lefevere, who lived from 1855 to 1995, though we don’t know exactly when. Imagine Lefevere, needle in hand, carefully drawing threads through fabric, building up images like a painter layering brushstrokes. The color palette is muted, earthy. Blues and browns are twined to create a comforting scene of plants and animals. There’s something tender about the deliberate pace of embroidery, a slow kind of mark-making. It’s almost meditative. You can imagine the maker lost in thought, each stitch a tiny decision, a gentle push and pull of thread and fabric. Lefevere might have been thinking about what would please them, or about the person who would receive the coverlet. The birds, the vase, the deer – all of this has been carefully considered. Embroidery, like painting, is about touch. It's about the hand, and the way that colors vibrate next to each other. Lefevere’s Embroidered Coverlet shows how makers can transform everyday materials into something beautiful, pushing the boundaries of what art can be.