Butter Mold

Art Historical Context

**Butter Mold**, a meticulous rendering by Wellington Blewett circa 1937, captures intricate beauty of an everyday American folk craft object. Created using watercolor, colored pencil, graphite on paper (49.8 x 39 cm), this work belongs to the esteemed *Index of American Design* (IAD), a Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. The IAD commissioned artists across the U.S. to regional folk arts, crafts, and through precise, colorful illustrations, preserving cultural heritage at a time of economic hardship. Blewett's depiction highlights the b...

About the Artist

Wellington Blewett

**Wellington Blewett (1875–1962)** was a Canadian-born American artist renowned for his meticulous watercolor renderings of everyday American folk objects. Active primarily in the late 1930s, Blewett contributed significantly to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that sought to document the nation's vernacular artistic heritage through...