Dolls
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 23 x 30.5 cm (9 1/16 x 12 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15527
Art Historical Context
**Dolls** by Rosalia Lane, created around 1936, is a delicate watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite drawing on paper, measuring just 23 x 30.5 cm. This intimate work captures the charm of American dolls with precise lines and soft color washes, blending Lane's skilled hand with the meticulous techniques favored for documentary art. As part of the *Index of American Design*—a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression—this piece belongs to a monumental effort from 1935 to 1942. Artists like Lane were commissioned to render over 15,000 watercol...
About the Artist
Rosalia Lane
Rosalia Lane is an artist about whom the historical record preserves very limited information. No confirmed birth or death dates have been established, and the broader circumstances of her training, career, and artistic context remain poorly documented. The works associated with her name indicate a female practitioner whose activity places her within a tradition of accomplished women artists whose...