Fish Weather Vane
c. 1938
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 29.2 x 44.2 cm (11 1/2 x 17 3/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 27" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16879
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Fish Weather Vane*, captivating watercolor and graphite rendering by Albert Ryder, created around 1938 as part of the Index of American Design (IAD). This New Deal-era initiative, launched under the Works Progress Administration, commissioned artists to document America's rich folk art heritage through precise, colorful depictions of everyday objects. Ryder's work preserves a 27-inch-long original weather vane—a whimsical folk sculpture likely perched on a New England rooftop, its sinuous fish form twisting in the wind to herald changing skies. Crafted on paper measuring 29.2 x 44...
About the Artist
Albert Ryder
Albert Ryder is an artist for whom biographical documentation is limited. No birth or death dates have been confirmed in major reference sources, and his nationality and training are not established in available records. His name is likely distinct from that of Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847–1917), the celebrated American symbolist painter, and should not be conflated with that better-documented figu...