Baby's Cap

Art Historical Context

Lillian Causey's *Baby's Cap* (c. 1939) is a delicate watercolor and graphite rendering that captures the intricate charm of an everyday American folk object. Part of the renowned Index of American Design, this work meticulously documents a traditional baby's cap, highlighting its fine needlework, soft folds, and period details. Measuring 46.6 x 35.7 cm, the drawing preserves a slice of domestic craftsmanship likely from the 19th or early 20th century, evoking the tender world of infancy and family life. Created under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index of American Design employed artists like Causey to record over 18,000 artifacts of U.S. folk art and design. This initiative celebrated the nation's cultural heritage, ensuring that humble items like this cap—symbols of handmade ingenuity—were not lost to time. Causey's contribution underscores the project's mission to value vernacular creativity amid economic hardship. The medium of watercolor and graphite on paper was ideal for the Index's precision: graphite provided sharp outlines and textures, while watercolor conveyed subtle colors and fabric sheen. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, *Baby's Cap* invites visitors to appreciate how art can safeguard the beauty of ordinary objects, bridging past and present with quiet elegance.

About the Artist

Lillian Causey · 1889–1949

Lillian Causey (1889–1949) was an American artist best known for her meticulous watercolor and graphite renderings of everyday American folk objects, created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Active primarily between 1935 and 1942, Causey contributed hundreds of detailed illustrations to this ambitious New Deal initi...