Design from Gray, Maine 1800 (no. 2): From Proposed Portfolio "Maine Wall Stencils"
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor and gouache on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 45.9 x 35.5 cm (18 1/16 x 14 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.18117
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of American folk art with *Design from Gray, 1800 (no. 2)*, a captivating watercolor and gouache rendition Mildred E. Bent. between 1935 and 1942, this work is part of the proposed portfolio *Maine Wall Stencils* within the Index of American Design—a monumental WPA Federal Art Project that employed artists during the Great Depression to meticulously document the nation's decorative traditions. Bent's piece faithfully recreates a stencil pattern from Gray, Maine, around 1800, measuring 45.9 x 35.5 cm and now housed in the National Gallery Art. Wall stenciling flouri...
About the Artist
Mildred E. Bent
Mildred E. Bent remains one of the more elusive figures in early twentieth-century American art, her biographical details largely undocumented in the historical record. She appears to have worked within the traditions of her era, producing a body of work substantial enough to leave a meaningful impression in the collections that have preserved her name, even as the personal circumstances of her tr...