Comb

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 craftsmanship during the Great Depression. This ambitious initiative produced thousands of such renderings to preserve folk art, decorative objects, and industrial designs, safeguarding cultural heritage amid economic hardship. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, *Comb* highlights how ordinary items like hair combs embodied regional artistry and ingenuity. Today, it invites us to appreciate the unsung beauty in utilitarian objects, bridging art history with everyday life and underscoring the WPA's role in employing artists while fostering national pride in American design.

About the Artist

Gertrude Lemberg · 1855–present

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), ...