Gridiron
c. 1939
Medium
graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 27.9 x 46.4 cm (11 x 18 1/4 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11413
Art Historical Context
**Gridiron** by Mildred Ford created around 1939, is a meticulous drawing on paperboard, measuring 27.9 x 46.4 cm. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Index of American Design collection, work exemplifies the precision of Ford's draftsmanship in capturing everyday American artifacts with artistic reverence. Part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index of Design (1935–2) commissioned artists to document the nation's folk art, crafts, and decorative objects. Ford's rendering of the gridiron—a heavy iron cooking grate us...
About the Artist
Mildred Ford
Mildred Ford (1895–1988) was an American artist whose career is indelibly linked to the Index of American Design, a monumental Works Progress Administration (WPA) project launched in the 1930s to document the nation's rich heritage of decorative arts and folk objects. Through her precise renderings, Ford helped preserve intricate details of everyday artifacts—from toleware utensils to Pennsylvania...