Churn
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 45.7 x 38.3 cm (18 x 15 1/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9616
Art Historical Context
Behold the humble yet elegant *Churn*, a captivating watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil rendering by Aaron Fastovsky, created around 1939. Measuring 45.7 x 38.3 cm, this work on paperboard meticulously captures a traditional butter churn—a quintessential piece of American folk craftsmanship. Fastovsky's precise hand brings to life the churn's wooden form, staves, and lid, transforming an everyday tool into a study of form and function. This artwork is a gem from the Index of American Design, a ambitious Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942....
About the Artist
Aaron Fastovsky
Aaron Fastovsky is an artist whose biographical record is not well preserved. No birth or death dates have been confirmed, and his nationality and artistic background remain unestablished in available sources, leaving the circumstances of his training and career largely unknown. Fastovsky's surviving works in museum collections — numbering close to fifty — suggest a dedicated practice. The scale ...