Coverlet
c. 1937
Medium
gouache and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 28.1 cm (14 x 11 1/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 7" wide; 10 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
1943.8.681
Art Historical Context
**Coverlet** by Ruth M. Barnes (c. 1937) is a delicate gouache and graphite rendering on paper, measuring 14 x 11 1/16 inches. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), this artwork captures the intricate patterns of a traditional American coverlet—a woven bedcovering central to early folk art traditions. Barnes, one of over 200 artists employed in this New Deal-era project, meticulously documented everyday objects to celebrate the nation's cultural heritage during the Great Depression. The IAD, launched in 1935 under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration, ...
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...