Bishop Hill: Chest
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 32.2 x 45.4 cm (12 11/16 x 17 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: Drawers: 6 1/2" high; 32" long 17 1/2" deep; knobs: 1 1/2" in diameter; 7/8" deep
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8708
Art Historical Context
Step into the rich heritage of American folk art with *Bishop Hill: Chest*, a meticulously rendered watercolor, graphite, and pen-and-ink depiction by Wellington Blewett from 1939. This 32.2 x 45.4 cm work on paperboard captures a wooden chest from the historic Swedish utopian community of Bishop Hill, Illinois—drawers measuring 6 1/2 inches high, 32 inches long, and 17 1/2 inches deep, with distinctive knobs 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Part of the prestigious Index of American Design (IAD), housed in the National Gallery of Art, it showcases everyday objects as cultural treasures. Created duri...
About the Artist
Wellington Blewett
**Wellington Blewett (1875–1962)** was a Canadian-born American artist renowned for his meticulous watercolor renderings of everyday American folk objects. Active primarily in the late 1930s, Blewett contributed significantly to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that sought to document the nation's vernacular artistic heritage through...