Nathaniel Currier

Shakers Near Lebanon

Lithograph, n.d.

NYPL, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection

Dancing, whirling, singing, clapping, marching, and other physically expressive means of worship were central to the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, and such activities led to their being popularly called Shakers. The ecstatic state induced by their dancing encouraged direct communication from the spirits of ancestors, especially Mother Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers, who died in 1784. An eyewitness account by Charles Nordhoff in 1875 described the type of dance shown here: "In their marching and dancing they hold their hands before them, and make a motion as of gathering something to themselves: this is called gathering a blessing. In like manner, when any brother or sister asks for their prayers and sympathy, they, reversing their hands, push towards him that which he asks." The Shakers, a millennial sect who believed that they could set an example of the perfect life, were not entirely closed off from the outside world: they hired laborers to work their fields, they sold their seeds and other products in local towns, and they allowed outsiders to visit and stay in their communities. Here, the woman in the red dress, on the left, is clearly a visitor to the Shaker community.
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