Decanter
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.1 x 22.6 cm (11 7/8 x 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11143
Art Historical Context
**Decanter** by John Dana, created around 1937, is a captivating rendering from the Index of American Design, a WPA Federal Art Project (19351942). This initiative employed artists across America to document everyday objects of cultural significance, preserving the nation's decorative arts heritage amid the Great Depression. Dana's precise depiction of a classic decanter celebrates American craftsmanship, likely from the 18th or 19th century, highlighting the elegance of glassware in colonial and early federal households. Executed in watercolor and graphite on paperboard (30.1 x 22.6 cm), the...
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...