Object ID
2015.27.4
Object Name
Embroidery
Date Created
circa 1976
Measurements
49.0550200000 cm. W x 2.54 cm. D x 60.6425 cm. L, Item (Overall)
Object Description
A framed cross-stitch embroidery. The background of the embroidery is blue. The main image is a golden bird with an olive branch clutched in it's beak. In its talons, the bird hold and American flag, as well as a sabre and two other weapons that look like spears or arrows. Around the bird and across the blue space are 25 white stars. At the top of the embroidery, in white, are the words "Happy Birthday America." At the bottom, also in white, is the following "1776-1976. Melpo. Falakos."
Origin
This cross-stitch was donated by Nick Falakos. His mother, Melpo, made two of these embroideries in the 1970s for the United States Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The bicentennial was observed throughout the country through a series of celebrations and events between April 1, 1975 and July 4, 1976. The Great Hall in the Commerce Building (now the Herbert C. Hoover Building) was used as the Bicentennial Visitor Center and housed items that Americans had sent to President Gerald Ford to celebrate the occasion. One of the embroideries made by Melpo Falakos was sent to the White House and exhibited in the Great Hall, and later sent to the Smithsonian Institution.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Embroidery, circa 1976, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/10957. Accessed 03/29/24.