Female Figurehead
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 55.9 x 38 cm (22 x 14 15/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.10146
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking *Female Figurehead* by Betty Fuerst, created around 1939 as part of the Index of American Design. This rendering captures the graceful form of a traditional wooden ship figurehead—a carved female figure once adorning the prow of American vessels during the age of sail. Fuerst's work revives these maritime icons, symbols of protection and national pride that blended European carving traditions with American ingenuity. Produced under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index commissioned artists like Fuerst to d...
About the Artist
Betty Fuerst
Betty Fuerst (1905–1984) was an American artist best known for her meticulous watercolor renderings documenting everyday objects of American folk art and craftsmanship as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942. Active primarily during this period, Fuerst contributed dozens of precise illustrations that captured th...