Salem, Salem Academy, circa 1830s, seated young girl holding a cat, with hat by her side, floral wreath motif lower border, silk, chenille, ribbon and paint on silk ground, 11-1/2 x 8-1/2 in.; probably original gilt frame, note enclosed verso states, "This is handwork done by Martha Deny Martin (when a pupil at Salem Academy) Daughter of Col. Martin of Rockingham Co., Married Stephen A. Douglas". Notes: Martha Deny Martin was born in 1824 in Rockingham, NC. In 1847 she married Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861), the US Senator who ran for president against Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Martha along with her infant daughter died during childbirth in 1853. It was noted that she attended Salem Academy in Salem, NC where she likely completed the needlework. An very similar watercolor and embroidered picture dated to 1830 is in the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, NC collection, (Accession #3914). The painted image is almost identical but there are variations in the execution of the wreath border, cat and trees.. Provenance: Estate of June Montague Ficklen, Greenville, North Carolina pest damage and losses to floral wreath, hat and green landscape, fading, areas of discoloration, scuffs to frame