Bedspread

Madame Xavier Fortin, from the village of Saint-Urbain in the Charlevoix back country, embroidered this bedspread for her trousseau in 1873 but never used it. It was acquired by Jori Smith, who, with her husband Jean Palardy, rented a house on the outskirts of Saint-Urbain in the 1930s. There, the couple painted and entertained local residents and a number of artist friends. In 1932, Marius Barbeau met Palardy, with whom he shared his research on popular arts and traditions. Having become a collector and specialist in early Quebec furniture, Palardy appraised the bedspread when Mrs. F. Cleveland Morgan donated it to the Museum in 1958.