Medicine Man
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.4 x 22.9 cm (11 15/16 x 9 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.10199
Art Historical Context
**Medicine Man** by Yolande Delasser, created around 1937, captures a striking figure from American cultural heritage through delicate watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard. Measuring just 30.4 x 22.9 cm, this intimate work exemplifies the precision and vibrancy of mixed-media techniques, where fluid watercolors blend with the fine lines of graphite and the bold accents of colored pencil to render textures and details with lifelike clarity. As part of the Index of American Design—a monumental Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from the Great Depression era—this artwo...
About the Artist
Yolande Delasser
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...