Fire Extinguisher
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 24.6 cm (14 1/16 x 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11164
Art Historical Context
**Fire Extinguisher** Loraine Makimson created around 1940, captures the sleek functionality of an everyday American safety device in exquisite detail. This watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite work on paperboard (35.7 x 24.6 cm) is part of the *Index of American Design*, groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s and 1940s. During the Great Depression, artists like Makimson documented over 18,000 objects of American folk, decorative, and industrial arts, preserving cultural heritage through precise, vibrant renderings that museums and scholars still rely on today. Makimson's m...