Book Cover
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 26.7 cm (14 1/16 x 10 1/2 in.) Original IAD Object: Approx. 1/4 size
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.7576
Art Historical Context
In 1938, artist Randolph F. Miller created vibrant rendering of a book cover as part of the of American Design (IAD), a groundbreaking Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era. Launched in 1935, the IAD commissioned over 15,000 watercolor illustrations by American artists to document the nation's folk art, crafts, and design—preserving objects that might otherwise be lost to time. Miller's precise depiction captures the essence of an everyday American artifact, scaled to approximately one-quarter of its original size, highlighting the project's mission to celebrate utilitarian beauty ...
About the Artist
Randolph F. Miller
Randolph F. Miller was an American artist active in the late 1930s and early 1940s who contributed work to the Index of American Design, the New Deal initiative that employed artists nationwide to document American decorative arts and material culture through precise watercolor renderings. Administered by the Federal Art Project, the Index assembled what became one of the most extensive pictorial ...