Mortar
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 36.1 x 28.3 cm (14 3/16 x 11 1/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 6 1/6" in diameter; 5 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
1943.8.12667
Art Historical Context
**Mortar** *Hester Duany, c. 1940* Watercolor and graphite on paperboard, 36.1 × 28.3 cm (14 3/16 × 11 1/8 in.) *Index of American Design, National Gallery of Art* This delicate watercolor and graphite rendering by Hester Duany captures a humble yet essential American household object: a mortar, measuring about 6 inches in diameter and 5½ inches high. Created around 1940, the artwork showcases the mortar's simple, functional form—likely a ceramic or wooden tool used for grinding spices, herbs, or grains in everyday colonial or early American kitchens. Duany's precise lines in graphite, ...
About the Artist
Hester Duany
Hester Duany (1891–1964) was an American artist best known for her meticulous renderings of traditional American folk art objects as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942. Working out of the New York City Project, Duany contributed dozens of watercolor and graphite drawings on paperboard that captured the intrica...