Corset
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 47.8 x 37.5 cm (18 13/16 x 14 3/4 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.1210
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 ob...