Church Bell
1939
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 24.4 cm (14 1/16 x 9 5/8 in.) Original IAD Object: none given
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.6708
Art Historical Context
Edith Towner's *Church Bell* (1939) is a meticulous watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paper, measuring 35.7 x 24.4 cm. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), this work exemplifies the era's effort to document and celebrate everyday American craftsmanship during the Great Depression. Towner, one of many skilled artists in the IAD, captured the bell's form with precision, blending soft watercolor washes for texture and depth with the fine lines of colored pencil and graphite for intricate details. The...
About the Artist
Edith Towner
Edith Towner was an American artist active around 1940, whose name is closely associated with the Index of American Design, the federally funded visual survey of American decorative arts and material culture produced under the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Working in watercolor, colored pencil, graphite, and pen and ink on paper, Towner brought skilled draftsmanship and an e...