Child's Top
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 28 x 22.8 cm (11 x 9 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16669
Art Historical Context
**Child's Top** by Fritz Boehmer, created around 1939, captures the simple charm of a classic American folk toy—a spinning top beloved by children across generations. This delicate rendering, measuring 28 x 22.8 cm, belongs to the National Gallery of's Index of American Design collection (CG-W), a treasure trove of Depression-era documentation celebrating everyday American craftsmanship. Boehmer's work emerged from the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (PA), a New Deal initiative from 1935 to 1942 that employed artists to document folk art and design through meticulous ...
About the Artist
Fritz Boehmer
Fritz Boehmer (1875–1942) was a Czech-born American painter whose career bridged personal portraiture and public documentation of folk art traditions. Little is known about his early life or formal training, which remains sparsely documented; however, by 1895, he was producing intimate portraits, such as *Gertrud Boehmer* at the Toledo Museum of Art, suggesting skill in miniature and figure work h...