Embroidered Picture ca. 1800 Samuel Folwell American During the first two decades of the nineteenth century, Elizabeth Folwell ran an embroidery school in Philadelphia that was unrivaled in popularity. This popularity may have been due to the talent of her husband, Samuel, who designed large dramatic memorials and other Neoclassical scenes for the girls to embroider. In addition to providing the basic designs, Samuel Folwell sketched the scene on silk, gave it to the student to embroider, and then completed the inscription, sky, and other painted details himself.. Embroidered Picture. Samuel Folwell (American, 1764-1813 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). American. ca. 1800. Silk embroidered with silk thread and decorated with paint, ink, and paper. Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States