Conestoga Wagon Jack
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 35.5 x 23.6 cm (14 x 9 5/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.3712
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Conestoga Wagon Jack by Edward L. Loper, a captivating 1935/1942 watercolor, graphite, and pen-and-ink rendering on paperboard, measuring a modest 35.5 x 23.6 cm. This depiction captures a sturdy wooden jack used to lift the iconic Conestoga wagonsthose legendary vehicles that carried pioneers westward across America's rugged frontiers in the 18th and 19th centuries Loper's precise lines and vibrant washes bring to life the tool's functional beauty: its geared mechanism, sturdy levers, and weathered patina evoking the grit of pioneer life. Created as part of the Index of American ...
About the Artist
Edward L. Loper
Edward Leroy Loper Sr. was born on April 7, 1916, in Wilmington, Delaware, to a poor family in the racially mixed Frogtown neighborhood, where he was raised primarily by his maternal grandmother. After graduating from Howard High School, the only secondary school available to African Americans in Delaware at the time, Loper received no formal artistic training initially but immersed himself in sel...