Crock

Art Historical Context

**Crock**, a delicate watercolor and graphite rendering by Yolande Delasser from around 1936, captures humble elegance of an everyday American pottery vessel. Measuring about 9 inches high a gently tapering form—6⅜ inches at the top and5⅜ inches at the base—this traditional crock likely served as a storage jar for preserves or liquids in colonial or early American households. Delasser's precise depiction highlights its simple, functional curves and subtle surface textures, transforming a utilitarian object into a study of vernacular design. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression, this work exemplifies a national effort to document and celebrate America's folk art and crafts. From 1935 to 1942, artists like Delasser produced over 15,000 detailed renderings of objects in public and private collections, preserving cultural heritage amid economic hardship. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, it underscores the IAD's mission to recognize the artistry in ordinary items, bridging fine art and everyday life. Delasser's technique—vibrant watercolor for color and sheen, paired with graphite for exacting lines—mimics the original object's materiality, making the drawing both archival record and aesthetic gem. Today, it invites us to appreciate the quiet craftsmanship of America's past. (198 words)

About the Artist

Yolande Delasser · 1855–present

Yolande Delasser was an American artist active during the mid-1930s, best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Amid the Great Depression, this ambitious New Deal initiative commissioned artists to document America's rich heritage of folk art and utilitarian objects through precise watercolor ren...