Corset

Art Historical Context

**Corset** by Frank McEnteec. 1937) invites us into the elegant yet restrictive world of early 20th-century American fashion. Created as part of the *Index of American Design*a New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) project 1935 to 1942—this watercolor, graphite, and colored rendering on paperboard meticulously documents a corset, a quintessential garment of Victorian and Edwardian undergarments. Measuring 47.8 x 37.5 cm, it exemplifies the Index's mission to celebrate and preserve everyday American design through over 18,000 artist-made studies of folk art, crafts, and decorative objects. McEntee, a skilled illustrator in the project, masterfully captures the corset's intricate boning, lacing, and fabric textures with vibrant hues and precise graphite lines. The mixed media technique—watercolor for luminous color, colored pencil for fine details, and graphite for sharp outlines—brings a three-dimensional quality to the flat form, highlighting its engineering as both functional support and fashion statement. Corsets symbolized the era's ideals of femininity, shaping the silhouette while sparking debates on health and body autonomy. Displayed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-W department, this work underscores the Index's cultural legacy: safeguarding vanishing artifacts amid the Great Depression. It reminds us how design reflects societal values, blending artistry with historical insight for today's visitors.