Flying Duck
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 27.7 x 35.6 cm (10 7/8 x 14 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9623
Art Historical Context
**Flying Duck**, created around 1939 by artist Malcolm Hackney, is vibrant watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard, measuring 27.7 x 35.6 cm. Housed in the National Gallery Art's Index of American collection, this work exemplifies the meticulous documentation style of the era, capturing the dynamic form of a duck in mid-flight with precise lines and vivid hues that highlight feathers, motion, and naturalistic details. Produced as part of the Federal Art under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index of American Design (1935–1942) commission...
About the Artist
Malcolm Hackney
Malcolm Hackney (c. 1914–1982) was an American artist whose career briefly but impactfully intersected with the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA). Born in 1913, Hackney trained as a commercial artist and studied at the Yale Art School before joining the WPA Federal Art Project in New Haven, Connecticut, where he lived during the late 1930s. From 1938 to 1939, he contributed to the a...