Chair-Round-A-Bout
1937
Medium
graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 35.5 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 18"high, 18"wide, 16"deep
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.4107
Art Historical Context
**Chair-Round-A-Bout** is a delightful graphite drawing on paperboard by J. Howard Iams, created in 1937. Measuring 35.5 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.), this precise rendering captures an original chair standing 18 inches high, 18 inches wide, and 16 inches deep—a compact, whimsically named design evoking playful motion, perhaps inspired by carousel-like forms or children's furniture from early American craftsmanship. As part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942), Iams's work exemplifies the program's mission ...
About the Artist
J. Howard Iams
John Howard Iams (1897–1964) was an American artist and self-described artist-historian whose passion for the regional past of southwestern Pennsylvania shaped one of the most distinctive careers to emerge from the Federal Art Project era. Born in Amwell Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, Iams grew up in the North Ten Mile region near the border of Greene County, a landscape steeped in col...