Creamer
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 28.1 x 22.7 cm (11 1/16 x 8 15/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.17363
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Creamer*, a circa 1940 watercolor and graphite rendering by John Dana, measuring 28.1 x 22.7 cm. This intimate study captures the elegant form of a classic American creamer—a small pitcher designed for serving cream at the table—its curves and contours rendered with meticulous precision on paperboard. Dana's use of watercolor brings subtle luminosity to the object's glazed surface, while graphite outlines add crisp definition, evoking the tactile sheen of ceramics. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s and...
About the Artist
John Dana
**John Dana** (American, active c. 1935) was a meticulous draftsman whose artistic legacy is inextricably linked to the Index of American Design, a landmark Works Progress Administration (WPA) project launched during the Great Depression to catalog and celebrate the nation's folk art and craftsmanship. Operating primarily out of the New York City project, Dana produced hundreds of precise renderin...