With titles like The Finding of Moses and Wisdom Instructing Youth in the Science of Geography, we know we’re in the past. But whose? In Detroit, 69 embroideries and one painting showcase work made by American girls and young women between the years 1740 and 1830. Classical motifs, subtle color, a beguiling sense of scale—the female imagination had to express itself somehow and it did so here with silk threads stitched on grounds of linen, wool, and silk. Subjects move from the ABCs and numbers in samplers to narratives from novels and the Bible. Contemporary embroideries are also included, recent works that use the visual language of this centuries-old art form. Elaine Reichek’s Sampler (Moby Dick) looks like it could date to 1897 but was actually created in 1997. Its rendering of the White Whale, placed ominously beneath the Pequod, is fate incarnate. —Laura Jacobs