Carousel Rabbit

Art Historical Context

Behold the whimsical *Carousel Rabbit*, a vibrant watercolor and graphite rendering by Robert Pohle, created around 1939. Measuring 38.1 x 38.2 cm, this detailed drawing captures the playful essence of a 48-inch-long wooden carousel figure, evoking the golden age of American amusement parks. Pohle's precise lines and luminous colors bring to life the rabbit's dynamic pose, fluffy fur, and decorative flourishes, transforming a folk art object into a work of fine art. This piece is part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a groundbreaking Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. From 1935 to 1942, artists like Pohle documented everyday American crafts—furniture, toys, and carousel animals—to celebrate the nation's cultural heritage and preserve vanishing traditions. Carousel figures, hand-carved in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, symbolized joy and ingenuity, with rabbits offering a charming alternative to the ubiquitous horses. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, *Carousel Rabbit* highlights the IAD's artistic technique: graphite for intricate outlines and watercolor for vivid, jewel-toned realism. It invites us to appreciate how these Depression-era efforts not only employed artists but also immortalized the spirited folk art that defined American leisure.

About the Artist

Robert Pohle · 1855–present

Robert Pohle is an artist about whom the available historical record provides limited documentation. His dates and nationality have not been firmly established, and the circumstances of his training and career remain unclear from currently available sources. The works associated with his name suggest a practiced hand, but without reliable biographical anchors it is not possible to place him confid...