Dog Weather Vane
c. 1938
Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 22.7 x 29 cm (8 15/16 x 11 7/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.17499
Art Historical Context
**Dog Weather Vane** is a delicate graphite drawing on paper by Gordon Sanborn created around 1938. Measuring 22.7 x 29 cm, this work captures the whimsical form of a traditional American weather vane shaped like a vigilant dog, poised to swivel with the wind. Sanborn's precise lines and shading highlight the vane's sculptural details, from the dog's alert ears and tail to its functional swivel mechanism, rendering a folk art object with documentary clarity. This artwork is part of the *Index of American Design*, monumental WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s that employed artists during t...
About the Artist
Gordon Sanborn
Gordon Sanborn is an artist whose work appears in museum collections in notable quantity, though the biographical details that would situate him within a specific tradition, school, or national context have not been well preserved in the available record. His name suggests an English-speaking background, and the volume of work attributed to him points to a career of real substance, even if the spe...