"Bull's Eye" Glass
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.5 x 22.6 cm (12 x 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11162
Art Historical Context
**"Bull's Eye"** by John Tarantino captures the charm of early American glassmaking in a precise watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard, measuring 30.5 x 22.6 cm. Created between 1935 and 1942, this work depicts "bull's eye" glass—a distinctive type of handblown window pane from the colonial era, marked by its central thick spot, or "bullseye," formed during the spinning process in crown glass production. These imperfections were not flaws but signatures of artisanal craft, often found in historic New England homes. As part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a Federal Art Proje...
About the Artist
John Tarantino
John Tarantino was an American artist active from around 1935 to 1953, best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This ambitious initiative commissioned artists across the United States to create precise renderings of everyday folk art objects, preserving the nation's vernacular design heritage a...