Cream Ladle

Art Historical Context

**Cream Ladle**, a delicate watercolor and graphite rendering by Josephine C. Romano around 1937, captures the elegant simplicity of an everyday American kitchen utensil. Measuring 24.4 x 35.8 cm, this work is part of the *Index of American Design*, monumental WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942). Sponsored by the U.S. government, the Index employed over 400 artists to document thousands of folk, craft, and decorative, preserving America's material culture through precise, colorful illustrations when many originals were at risk of loss. Romano's technique blends t...