Branding Iron
c. 1942
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paper
Dimensions
overall: 30.5 x 39 cm (12 x 15 3/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 34" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8937
Art Historical Context
**Branding Iron**, a meticulous rendering by Elizabeth Johnson around 1942, captures the rugged elegance of a traditional American ranching tool. Created as part of the Index of American Design—a Works Progress Administration (WPA project during the Great Depression—this watercolor, graphite, and pen-ink drawing on paper (30.5 x 39 cm) depicts a 34-inch-long branding iron an essential implement for marking livestock on the frontier. Johnson's work preserves the iron's functional form, highlighting its forged curves and practical heft in vibrant yet precise detail. The Index of American Design...
About the Artist
Elizabeth Johnson
Elizabeth Johnson is an artist about whom very little biographical information is currently available in standard reference sources. No birth or death dates have been established, and her nationality and training are not documented. Given the commonality of the name, it is difficult to identify this particular Elizabeth Johnson with confidence among the many artists who have worked under that nam...