Blue Compote
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink on paper
Dimensions
overall: 28 x 22.9 cm (11 x 9 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11248
Art Historical Context
"Blue Compote," created around 1936 by artist Edward White, is a meticulous rendering in watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink on paper, measuring 28 x 22.9 cm. This intimate-scale work captures the elegant form and vibrant blue hue of a traditional compote—a stemmed dish often used for fruits or desserts—highlighting its graceful curves and subtle sheen with precision. As part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a groundbreaking Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, this piece exemplifies a New Deal-era effort to document and celebrate America...
About the Artist
Edward White
Edward White remains a figure whose life and training are not well documented in surviving historical records. No confirmed birth or death dates, nationality, or institutional affiliations have been established, making it difficult to place him within a specific artistic tradition or school. Despite the scarcity of biographical information, White produced a body of work that has been preserved in...