Mortar and Pestle
c. 1941
Medium
graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 34.3 x 26.8 cm (13 1/2 x 10 9/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 7" in diameter; 6 7/8" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.12664
Art Historical Context
In the Index of American Design, a WPA-era project from the 1930s and 1940s, artist Maurice Van Felix captured the humble yet essential mortar and pestle in exquisite detail around 1941. Rendered in graphite on paperboard (34.3 x 26.8 cm), this meticulously documents an original object measuring 7 inches in diameter and 6 7/8 inches high. Van Felix's precise lines and shading highlight the tool's functional form—likely a piece of American folk craft used for grinding herbs, spices, or grains in everyday households. The Index aimed to preserve vanishing examples of American material culture, f...
About the Artist
Maurice Van Felix
Maurice Van Felix was born on March 16, 1889, in Łódź, Poland, and later became a prominent figure in American art circles after immigrating to the United States. His early training took place in Poland and France, where he honed his skills as a painter and etcher before settling in Brooklyn, New York, by 1919. Though details of his formal education remain sparse, Van Felix quickly established him...