Maple Candlestand

Art Historical Context

Behold the delicate rendering of a *Maple Candlestand by Vincent P. Rosel, created around 1938 as part of the Index of American Design (IAD). This watercolor gouache, graphite, pencil, and pen-andink work on paper (30.6 x 23.1 cm) meticulously captures a graceful 35-inch-high by 14-inch-wide wooden, showcasing the elegant turned legs and simple, functional form typical of early American furniture. The IAD, a Federal Art Project the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, employed artists like Rosel to document everyday objects of American folk art and craftsmanship during the Great Depression. These precise illustrations preserved cultural heritage at risk of being lost, highlighting regional traditions in woodworking and design from colonial times. Rosel's masterful use of layered media brings the maple's warm grain and subtle curves to life, blending realism with artistic flair. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, this piece invites us to appreciate the ingenuity of anonymous American artisans whose humble candlestands illuminated homes centuries ago.

About the Artist

Vincent P. Rosel · 1855–present

Vincent P. Rosel is an artist about whom very limited documentation survives in the accessible art historical record. His dates, nationality, artistic training, and the scope of his career have not been definitively established in scholarly sources, placing him among the many figures whose names appear in collection records but whose biographies remain to be recovered. Where works attributed to R...