Adjustable Candle Holder

Art Historical Context

Behold the *Adjustable Holder*, a meticulous graphite drawing on paperboard by Howard Lard, created around 9. Measuring 43.9 x 33.1 cm, this work captures the elegant simplicity of a functional American household object from the Index of American Design collection at the National Gallery of Art Lumbard's precise lines highlight the candle holder's adjustable mechanism, transforming an everyday utilitarian item into a study of form and craftsmanship. Part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index of American Design (1935–1942) commissioned artists like Lumbard to document the nation's rich material culture. Through detailed renderings in graphite, watercolor, and tempera, it preserved folk art, crafts, and designs—elevating vernacular objects to celebrate American ingenuity and heritage amid economic hardship. This piece exemplifies the Index's artistic technique: hyper-realistic shading and perspective that mimic three-dimensionality on a flat surface, blending technical draftsmanship with aesthetic appreciation. It reminds us how ordinary tools, born of necessity, reflect cultural values of adaptability and resourcefulness in early 20th-century America.

About the Artist

Howard Lumbard · 1855–present

Howard Lumbard was an American artist active around 1935 whose precise watercolor and graphite drawings form a notable part of the Index of American Design. His early life is not well documented, with no records of formal training, teachers, or artistic education coming to light. Instead, Lumbard is known through his contributions to this ambitious New Deal-era initiative, a Federal Art Project of...