Boy's Poplin Suit

Art Historical Context

This watercolor and graphite work on paperboard, titled Boy's Poplin Suit, was created by Daniel Marshack between 1935 and 1942 as part of the Index of American Design. Now in the National Gallery of Art, it reflects a Depression-era federal initiative that commissioned artists to produce a visual archive of American material culture, from crafts to everyday objects. The Index focused on precise documentation of historical items, including clothing and textiles. Marshack combined watercolor's fluid washes to suggest the poplin fabric's color and texture with graphite's sharp lines for construction details, resulting in a clear, informative rendering on sturdy paperboard. These works provided both artistic employment and a lasting record of American design traditions. For visitors, the piece reveals how 1930s–1940s artists captured garments that illustrate the nation's evolving styles and craftsmanship, offering a window into both historical clothing and the era's documentary art.

About the Artist

Daniel Marshack · 1911–1995

Daniel Marshack was an American artist born around 1911 whose death date remains unknown. Little is recorded about his early life, training, or teachers, as is common for many of the hundreds of artists employed on New Deal-era public art projects. He is known today almost exclusively through his contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administrat...