Hobby Horse
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 37.3 x 46 cm (14 11/16 x 18 1/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 16" high; 24 1/2" long; 7" wide
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15740
Art Historical Context
**Hobby Horse** by Mina Lowry, created between 1935 and1942, is a watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard, measuring 37.3 x 46 cm. This detailed depiction captures a charming American folk toy—a wooden hobby horse, originally 16 inches high, ½ inches long, and 7 wide—evoking the playful spirit of childhood in early American life. Lowry's precise technique blends soft watercolor washes for color and texture with graphite lines for sharp contours, bringing the carved horse's whimsical form and painted decorations to life. As part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a New Deal-era Fed...
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...