Comb
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 29 x 22.7 cm (11 7/16 x 8 15/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.2375
Art Historical Context
Gertrude Lemberg's *Comb* (c. 1939) is a meticulous watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard, capturing the details of an everyday American design object. Measuring 29 x 22.7 cm, this work exemplifies the precision of Lemberg's hand, blending soft watercolor washes for texture and depth with graphite lines for sharp contours—techniques ideal for faithfully reproducing the comb's form, pattern, and materiality. Created as part of the Index of American Design, a Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, the piece documents America's rich tradition of cr...
About the Artist
Gertrude Lemberg
Gertrude Lemberg was an American artist who contributed to the Index of American Design during the New Deal era, creating detailed watercolor renderings of American clothing and domestic objects that are now held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Her documented works include Brocaded Silk Dress (c. 1939), Dress (c. 1940), Glass (c. 1940), Vase (c. 1940), Petticoat Dress (c. 1941), ...