Coverlet Detail
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 33.2 x 24.9 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 10" wide; 7 1/2" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.603
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Coverlet Detail*, created by Ruth M. Barnes around 1937, captures the intricate patterns of a traditional American woven bedcover in watercolor and gouache on paper (33.2 x 24.9 cm). As part of the National Gallery of Art's collection, it meticulously renders a segment of an original object measuring 10 by 7½ inches, highlighting the fine textile craftsmanship typical of early American folk art. Barnes's work belongs to the Index of American Design, a landmark Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) launched during the Great Depression. From 1935 to 1942...
About the Artist
Ruth M. Barnes
Ruth M. Barnes (1880–1954) was an American artist best known for her meticulous watercolor renderings of traditional American folk textiles as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Active during the Great Depression era from roughly 1935 to 1942, Barnes contributed dozens of detailed studies to this ambitious initiative, which em...