Chalkware Cat
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 38.2 x 27.6 cm (15 1/16 x 10 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 10" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8324
Art Historical Context
**Chalkware Cat***Betty Fuerst, c. 1940* Watercolor and graphite on paperboard 38.2 × 27.6 cm (15 1/16 × 10 7/8 in.) *National Gallery of Art, Index of American Design* into the whimsical world of American folk art with Betty Fuerst's *Chalkware Cat*, meticulous rendering from around 1940. This and graphite depiction captures a 10-inch-high chalk sculpture—a molded plaster figure popular in 19th- and early 20th-century households. Affordable and vibrantly painted, chalkware offered an accessible alternative to ceramics, often featuring playful animals like this endearing cat as cherished...
About the Artist
Betty Fuerst
Betty Fuerst (1905–1984) was an American artist best known for her meticulous watercolor renderings documenting everyday objects of American folk art and craftsmanship as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942. Active primarily during this period, Fuerst contributed dozens of precise illustrations that captured th...