Crock
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 40.6 x 31 cm (16 x 12 3/16 in.) Original IAD Object: .378 x .307 (14 7/8 x 11 7/8)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.6375
Art Historical Context
George Loughridge's *Crock* (c. 1939), a watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard, captures the humble beauty of an everyday American folk art object—a sturdy earthenware storage jar. Measuring about 40.6 x 31 cm, this work belongs to the Index of American Design (IAD), a monumental WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942). Artists like Loughridge meticulously documented regional crafts, preserving vanishing traditions for posterity. The IAD's mission was profoundly democratic: to celebrate ordinary American ingenuity amid economic hardship. Loughridge's precis...
About the Artist
George Loughridge
George Loughridge was an American artist active during the 1930s, best known for his contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This ambitious New Deal initiative, running from 1935 to 1943, commissioned hundreds of artists across the United States to create meticulously detailed watercolor renderings of everyday American fol...