Composition of a House

Art Historical Context

"Composition of a House" Thomas Flavell, created around 1936, captures a domestic scene in pastel on tracing paper, a delicate medium measuring 14½ × 19¾ inches. This drawing, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Modern and Contemporary Art department evokes the simple geometries of a house through soft, layered strokes—pastel's blendable pigments lending an ethereal quality. The translucent tracing paper, often used for preliminary sketches or overlays, adds sense of experimentation, allowing light to interplay with the colors and forms. Flavell's work emerged during the Great Depression, gifted to the Met in 1943 by the Pennsylvania Works Progress Administration (WPA), President Roosevelt's New Deal program that employed thousands of artists. The WPA fostered American Scene painting, emphasizing everyday subjects like houses to reflect national identity and resilience. This piece exemplifies that ethos, transforming the humble home into a modernist "composition"—a nod to abstraction in an era bridging realism and emerging styles. Visitors will appreciate how Flavell's subtle technique highlights architecture's poetic potential, a testament to WPA's role in democratizing art and preserving cultural stories from the 1930s.

About the Artist

Thomas Flavell · 1906–1975

Thomas Flavell (1906–1975) was born in Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, and developed his artistic talents in the vibrant cultural milieu of Philadelphia. He studied at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where he trained under the guidance of Grace Thorp Gemberling, honing his skills in drawing and painting. This rigorous education equipped him with a modernist sensibility, emphasi...