Colander
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 23 x 29.1 cm (9 1/16 x 11 7/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 4" high; top: 11 1/2" in diameter; base: 7" in diameter
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9446
Art Historical Context
**Colander** by Yolande Delasser, around 1936, is a meticulous rendering of a humble household object—a colander measuring 4 inches high with an 11½-inch top diameter and 7-inch base. Executed in watercolor, graphite, andache on paperboard (23 × 29.1 cm), this work belongs to the prestigious Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (PA). During the Great Depression, artists Delasser documented everyday American crafts, preserving cultural heritage through detailed, colorful illustrations. The IAD, spanning 1935–1942, produced over 15,000 su...
About the Artist
Yolande Delasser
Yolande Delasser was an American artist active during the mid-1930s, best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Amid the Great Depression, this ambitious New Deal initiative commissioned artists to document America's rich heritage of folk art and utilitarian objects through precise watercolor ren...