Crock
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 29.2 x 22.5 cm (11 1/2 x 8 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 9" High 6 3/8" Dia. (top) 5 3/8" Dia. (base)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.5043
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...
About the Artist
Yolande Delasser
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...