Leather Bodied Doll
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 33.8 x 27.6 cm (13 5/16 x 10 7/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 10 1/4" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15567
Art Historical Context
**Leather Bodied Doll**, created around 1936 by artist Jane Iverson, captures the charm of an early American folk doll in watercolor, graphite, and gou on paper. Measuring 33.8 x 27.6 cm, this precise rendering depicts a 10 1/4-inch-high leather-bodied figure, highlighting its handmade craftsmanship and quaint features typical of vernacular toys from America's past. Iverson's work invites us to appreciate the everyday artistry of ordinary objects that shaped cultural memory. As part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Project from 1935–1942, this piece served a...
About the Artist
Jane Iverson
Jane Iverson is an artist whose biographical details — including her dates, nationality, and training — are not well represented in the major art historical reference sources currently available. The limited documentation surrounding her career makes it difficult to characterize her practice in relation to any specific school, movement, or period. Works attributed to Iverson in museum collections...