Hitching Post Finial
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.3 x 22.6 cm (11 15/16 x 8 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 13 1/2" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.17700
Art Historical Context
**Hitching Post Finial** by Mina Lowry, created around 1940, captures the charming whimsy of an American folk art object—a decorative finial crowning a hitching post where horses were once tethered. These finials, often sculpted as playful animal figures, adorned urban and rural landscapes in the 19th and early 20th centuries, blending utility with regional pride. Lowry's rendition, measuring 30.3 x 22.6 cm, preserves this vanishing element of everyday Americana. As part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from the 1930s–1940s, this work refl...
About the Artist
Mina Lowry
Mina Lowry (1894–1942), an American artist born in Canada, emerged as a prominent portrait painter whose career bridged traditional portraiture and the documentation of American folk art. Immigrating to Buffalo, New York, with her family around 1901, she honed her skills early on, winning first prize for modeling at the Albright Art School and studying under the esteemed Florence J. Bach. Lowry fu...