Hinge
c. 1939
Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 25.4 x 45.7 cm (10 x 18 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11456
Art Historical Context
**Hinge** by Gordon Sanborn, created around 1939, captures the humble yet essential form of a mechanical hinge in meticulous graphite on paper (25.4 x 457 cm). This drawing belongs to the *Index of American Design*, monumental WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942), where artists across the U.S. documented everyday objects reflecting American craftsmanship and folk traditions. Sanborn's precise rendering highlights the hinge's functional beauty—likely an example of early American hardware, showcasing blacksmithing techniques or colonial ingenuity. Graphite allowed f...
About the Artist
Gordon Sanborn
Gordon Sanborn is an artist whose work appears in museum collections in notable quantity, though the biographical details that would situate him within a specific tradition, school, or national context have not been well preserved in the available record. His name suggests an English-speaking background, and the volume of work attributed to him points to a career of real substance, even if the spe...