Flask
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
sheet: 28.2 × 22.7 cm (11 1/8 × 8 15/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 7 1/8" High
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.6248
Art Historical Context
**Flask** by John Fisk (c. 1936) is a captivating watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard, measuring 28.2 × 22.7 cm. Created as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942), this piece meticulously documents an everyday American artifact—a flask standing 7 1/8 inches high. Fisk's precise depiction preserves the object's form, texture, and details, offering a window into America's material culture. The IAD commissioned over 15,000 such renderings by artists nationwide to celebrate and safeguard folk art, ...
About the Artist
John Fisk
John Fisk is an artist about whom verified biographical information is limited in the major art historical literature. No confirmed dates of birth or death have been established, and details regarding nationality, training, and primary period of activity remain undocumented in readily available scholarly sources. Works attributed to John Fisk have entered museum collections, suggesting a level of...