Jug

Art Historical Context

Yolande Delasser's *Jug* (c. 1937) is a meticulous rendering of an everyday American ceramic vessel, capturing its form and subtle decorative details with precision. Measuring 29 x 22.4 cm overall, this work depicts an original jug standing 11 3/4 inches high, likely a piece of folk pottery that exemplifies early American craftsmanship. As part of the National Gallery of Art's collection, it invites visitors to appreciate the humble beauty of utilitarian objects that shaped daily life. Created for the Index of American Design—a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1942—this artwork belongs to a vast archive of over 18,000 renderings documenting the nation's artistic heritage. Delasser, one of many skilled artists employed during the Great Depression, contributed to this effort to preserve vanishing traditions amid economic hardship and industrialization. The Index celebrated regional folk arts, ensuring that objects like this jug were not forgotten. Delasser's technique blends watercolor for soft tonal gradients, colored pencil for fine textures, and graphite for sharp outlines on sturdy paperboard, achieving a lifelike quality that bridges documentation and artistry. This hybrid approach highlights the IAD's dual role as both scholarly record and aesthetic celebration, reminding us how ordinary items embody cultural stories.

About the Artist

Yolande Delasser · 1855–present

Yolande Delasser was an American artist active during the mid-1930s, best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Amid the Great Depression, this ambitious New Deal initiative commissioned artists to document America's rich heritage of folk art and utilitarian objects through precise watercolor ren...