Butter Worker
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 20.3 x 26.7 cm (8 x 10 1/2 in.) Original IAD Object: 6 5/8" long; 4 5/8" wide
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16607
Art Historical Context
**Butter Worker**, a delicate watercolor and graphite rendering by Hester Duany from around 1940, captures the elegance of a traditional American folk tool. Measuring 20.3 x 26.7 cm, this artwork depicts a butter worker—a wooden paddle used to knead and shape freshly churned butter, smoothing out buttermilk for storage or sale. The original object, just 6 58 inches long and 5/8 inches wide, exemplifies everyday craftsmanship from America's rural past, likely crafted by hand in the 18th or 19th century. Created as part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Projec...
About the Artist
Hester Duany
Hester Duany (1891–1964) was an American artist best known for her meticulous renderings of traditional American folk art objects as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942. Working out of the New York City Project, Duany contributed dozens of watercolor and graphite drawings on paperboard that captured the intrica...