Armchair

Art Historical Context

Lorenz Rothkranz's *Armchair* (1936) is a meticulous rendering of an American furniture piece, capturing its elegant form in watercolor, graphite, colored pencil and subtle heightening on paper. Measuring 28.7 x 22.8 cm (11 5/16 x 9 in.), this intimate drawing depicts an original armchair standing 37 inches high, 24 inches wide, 19 inches deep— that suggest a comfortable, mid-scale design suited for domestic life. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Art under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, the work reflects New Deal efforts to document and celebrate everyday American craftsmanship during the Great Depression. Rothkranz, one of many skilled artists involved, employed layered techniques—graphite for precise outlines, vibrant watercolors and colored pencils for rich tones, and heightening for luminous highlights—to convey texture, wood grain, and upholstery with lifelike precision. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, this piece underscores the IAD's cultural legacy: preserving vanishing traditions of regional design and folk art. It invites us to appreciate not just the armchair's functional beauty, but the artistic ingenuity that immortalized it for future generations.

About the Artist

Lorenz Rothkranz · 1855–present

Lorenz Rothkranz (1898–1970) was an American artist best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Born on April 10, 1898, in Manhattan, New York, Rothkranz captured the essence of early American folk art and decorative objects through highly detailed watercolor renderings...