University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

Betty Ring is a nationally recognized expert on schoolgirl embroidery; this book is frequently cited as the magisterial, authoritative work on the subject. My research on the history of North American art education in the 19th and early 20th centuries has aimed to broaden definitions of art, education, and art education to encompass informal and formal learning of needlework as an important element in redefining art education history to include issues of gender and class in visual culture. I have used other works by Ring in other research libraries on previous projects. Given Penn State's current outstanding collection of books and documents in art education history, this book would be an excellent addition. It would complement existing resources and enable students and other researchers studying art education and its history to learn more about female arts, the roles of needlework in antebellum culture, and how women in the past learned and taught visual culture. Finally, I would like to use this book in my own research without traveling to other libraries.