Lock Plate
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 26.7 cm (14 1/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.12544
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of American craftsmanship with *Lock Plate*, a meticulous rendering by artist Edward Jewett, created around 1940. This watercolor and graphite drawing on paper captures the intricate of a historic lock plate—an everyday object transformed into a testament to early American metalwork. Measuring 35.7 x 26.7 cm, it belongs to the National Gallery of's Index of American Design, a treasure trove of Depression-era documentation. Produced as part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Index (1935–1942) employed artists like Jewett to faithfu...
About the Artist
Edward Jewett
Edward Taylor Jewett (1868–1955) was an American artist whose career bridged traditional academic painting and the documentation of vernacular American crafts. Born on March 28, 1868, in New York, Jewett pursued formal training in the late nineteenth century, studying at the Académie Julian in Paris and later under the portraitist J. Carroll Beckwith in New York City. This rigorous education equip...