Comb

Art Historical Context

Behold the delicate rendering *Comb* by Hester Duany, around 1939 as part of the Index of American Design. This watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil work on paper measures just 30.5 x 23.1 cm, capturing the intricate details of an everyday American object with meticulous precision. Duany, one of many skilled artists employed through the Federal Art Project, a simple comb—likely a folk craft or historical artifact—into a vibrant celebration of utilitarian beauty. The Index of American Design, launched in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, aimed to document and preserve the nation's rich heritage of decorative arts, crafts, and folk traditions. Over 15,000 such renderings were produced, safeguarding motifs from quilts to tools against obscurity. Duany's piece exemplifies this mission, highlighting regional craftsmanship through layered techniques: soft watercolors evoke texture and sheen, graphite adds fine lines for form, and colored pencils bring luminous highlights. Today, housed in the National Gallery of Art, *Comb* invites us to appreciate the artistry in the ordinary, reminding visitors of America's diverse creative legacy born from necessity and ingenuity.

About the Artist

Hester Duany · 1891–1964

Hester Duany (1891–1964) was an American artist best known for her meticulous renderings of traditional American folk art objects as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942. Working out of the New York City Project, Duany contributed dozens of watercolor and graphite drawings on paperboard that captured the intrica...