Butter Print and Mold
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35 x 27.7 cm (13 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 4 5/8" high; 4 1/4" wide; plunger: 5 1/2: high; 3 1/2" in diameter
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9029
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Great Depression, the Index of American Design—a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from 1935 to 1942—commissioned artists like Anthony Zuccare to meticulously document everyday American folk objects. Created around 1936, *Butter Print and Mold* one such watercolor and graphite rendering on paper, capturing a carved wooden tool used by farmwives to imprint decorative patterns on fresh butter blocks for market or home use. Measuring 35 x 27.7 cm, this precise study preserves the charm of 19th-century rural craftsmanship, highlighting motifs that transformed utilitar...