Cradle
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, graphite,and some heightening on paper
Dimensions
overall: 27.3 x 24.9 cm (10 3/4 x 9 13/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 37" x 22 3/4"
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.4910
Art Historical Context
**Cradle**, created around 1936 by Wellington Blew, is a meticulous rendering of an antique American cradle, captured through the artist's skilled hand in watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, graphite, and heightening on paper. 27.3 x 24.9 cm (10 3/4 x 9 13/16 in.), this intimate work belongs to the National Gallery of's collection and vividly documents a cherished piece of everyday heirloom furniture, likely from early American craftsmanship. The original cradle itself spanned an impressive 37 x 22 3/4 inches, evoking the tender world of infancy in colonial or folk traditions. As part of...
About the Artist
Wellington Blewett
**Wellington Blewett (1875–1962)** was a Canadian-born American artist renowned for his meticulous watercolor renderings of everyday American folk objects. Active primarily in the late 1930s, Blewett contributed significantly to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that sought to document the nation's vernacular artistic heritage through...