Amana Dough Trough Scrapers
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.5 x 40.7 cm (12 x 16 in.) Original IAD Object: overall: 4 3/4" long, 3 3/4" high; 4 3/4" wide
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.3896
Art Historical Context
**Amana Dough Troughers** is a meticulous watercolor and graphite rendering by artist Harley Kempter, created 1939. This work depicts a set of utilitarian wooden scrapers used in the Amana Colonies, a communal society founded by German pietists in Iowa during the 19th century. Measuring 30.5 x 40.7 cm (12 x 16 in.), the piece captures the original object's modest scale—about 4 3/4 inches long and wide—highlighting its functional simplicity in everyday bread-making. As part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from 1935 to 1942, Kempter's artwork...