Marionette
c. 1938
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 28 cm (14 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 41 1/2" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15678
Art Historical Context
**Marionette** *Vrena Tallman, c. 1938* Watercolor, graphite, andache on paper, 35.6 × 28 cm (14 × 11 in.) * of American Design, National of Art* Created by artist Vrena Tallman around 1938, *Marionette* is a meticulously rendered depiction of a 41½-inch-tall puppet from the Index of American DesignIAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Project. Launched in 1935 amid the Great, the IAD employed hundreds of artists to document America's rich heritage of folk art, crafts, and design through vibrant, accurate watercolor plates. Tallman's work captures the whimsical figure in exquisite detail, hi...
About the Artist
Verna Tallman
Verna Tallman remains a figure about whom the historical record has preserved very little. No birth or death dates have been established, and her nationality and training are not documented in major reference sources. The works attributed to her suggest an engagement with decorative or illustrative traditions, though without more contextual documentation it is difficult to place her within a spec...