Desk
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, graphite, and pen and ink on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.8 x 23.2 cm (12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 4'6 1/2"high; 37"wide; 23 1/2"deep
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.4953
Art Historical Context
This exquisite rendering of a desk, created by artist Paul Ward around 1937, is a gem from the Index of American Design—a landmark WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era. Launched in 1935, the Index commissioned over 15,000 watercolor illustrations like this one to meticulously document everyday American objects, celebrating the nation's rich heritage of craftsmanship and folk art. Ward's work captures the desk's elegant proportions—originally standing 4 feet 6½ inches high, 37 inches wide, and 23½ inches deep—highlighting its functional beauty as a quintessential piece of Ameri...
About the Artist
Paul Ward
Paul Ward was an American artist who contributed to the Index of American Design during the New Deal era, creating detailed watercolor renderings of American decorative objects that are now held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His documented works include Lamp and Camphene Lamp, both rendered in watercolor and graphite on paperboard and created between 1935 and...