Coverlet

Art Historical Context

This delicate rendering of a coverlet captures the intricate patterns of traditional American woven textiles through the careful hand of Arthur G. Merkley. Created around 1939 as part of the Index of American Design, the work belongs to a remarkable New Deal initiative that employed artists across the country to document historic decorative arts before they disappeared. These precise studies served as both artistic records and educational tools, preserving the visual heritage of everyday objects like bedcovers that once graced American homes. Merkley’s choice of watercolor and graphite on pap...

About the Artist

Arthur G. Merkley

Arthur G. Merkley is an artist about whom biographical documentation remains scarce. No confirmed dates of birth or death have been established, and the national or cultural context of his work has not been definitively identified in the scholarly literature. The works attributed to him point to activity likely in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, but the precise circumstances of his...