Cabinet-top Desk

Art Historical Context

Behold the *Cabinet-top Desk*, meticulous 1937 rendering by Ferdinand Cartier, part of the esteemed Index of American Design (IAD). Created in watercolor, colored pencil, and on paperboard (measuring 40.8 × 30.8 cm), this work vividly captures the elegant form of an original American desk standing at an impressive 101 × × 23 inches.'s drawing showcases the desk's graceful cabinet-top structure—likely a fine example of early American furniture craftsmanship—with intricate details that highlight its functional beauty and period proportions. As a product of the Federal Art Project under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA), the IAD (1935–1942) employed artists like Cartier to document the nation's rich heritage of decorative arts, folk objects, and design traditions. During the Great Depression, these renderings preserved cultural artifacts through precise, colorful interpretations, blending artistic skill with historical documentation. Cartier's mixed-media technique allowed for luminous colors, fine lines, and subtle shading, making the desk's wood grains, hardware, and contours leap off the page. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, this piece underscores the IAD's enduring legacy: celebrating everyday American ingenuity while supporting artists in tough times. It's a window into our design past, inviting you to appreciate how form meets function in classic cabinetry.

About the Artist

Ferdinand Cartier · 1892–1987

Ferdinand Cartier is an artist whose historical record remains limited. No confirmed birth or death dates have been established, and his national origin and training background are not documented in surviving sources, making it difficult to place him within any specific artistic tradition or school. Cartier's presence in museum collections, with close to fifty works attributed to him, points to a...