Coffee Grinder
c. 1941
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 23 x 27.9 cm (9 1/16 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 17" long; 4" wide; 3" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9469
Art Historical Context
Pearl Davis's *Coffee Grinder* (c 1941), a watercolor and graphite rendering on paper measuring 23 x 27.9 cm, vividly documents a classic wooden household tool—originally 17 inches long 4 inches wide, 3 inches high. Created as part of the Federal Art Project's Index of American (IAD), this exemplifies the program's mission during the Great Depression and early World War II era to celebrate and preserve everyday American folk art and craftsmanship through precise artistic reproductions. The IAD, active from 1935 to 1942, employed hundreds of artists like Davis to capture the forms, colors, and...