Hector Taking Leave of His Family
Medium
Silk embroidered with silk and metallic threads, sequins, watercolor
Dimensions
31 1/8 x 28 3/4 in. (79.1 x 73 cm)
Classification
Embroidered picture
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mrs. Russell Sage Gift, 1971
Accession Number
1971.62
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Metropolitan Museum of's American Wing sits *Hector Taking Leave of His Family (1810), a embroidered masterpiece by Lucy C. Huntington. This work draws from Homer's *Iliad*, capturing the poignant moment when the Trojan hero Hector bids farewell to his wife Andache and their infant son Astyanax heading to battle. Rendered in a domestic interior, it blends classical mythology with intimate family emotion, evoking themes of duty, love, and impending tragedy that resonated in early 19th-century America. Crafted on silk with silk and metallic threads, sequins, and watercolor, ...