Ox Cart Chair
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 55.7 x 45.7 cm (21 15/16 x 18 in.) Original IAD Object: none given
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.5592
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Ox Cart Chair*, a rendering by artist Wilbur M. Rice, created around 1939 as part of the Index of American Design (IAD). detailed depiction captures a charming piece of American folk furniture, likely a rustic wooden chair associated with ox-drawn carts—evoking the hardy, everyday ingenuity of rural life in early America. Measuring 55.7 x 45.7 cm, the work showcases Rice's skill in preserving cultural artifacts that might otherwise fade into obscurity. Produced under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the IAD commissione...
About the Artist
Wilbur M Rice
**Wilbur M. Rice (1909–1974)** was an American artist best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Active primarily between 1935 and 1942, Rice produced detailed watercolor, gouache, and graphite renderings of everyday American folk objects, tools, toys, and crafts. Thes...