Oxen Yoke
c. 1938
Medium
watercolor, graphite, pen and ink and heightening on paper
Dimensions
overall: 29.7 x 40.8 cm (11 11/16 x 16 1/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8079
Art Historical Context
**Oxen Yoke** by Henry Waldeck, around 1938, is a rendering from the Index of American Design (IAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942). This initiative employed artists to meticulously document America's folk arts, crafts, and everyday objects, preserving cultural heritage through precise illustrations. Waldeck, one of many talented contributors, captured the humble yet vital oxen yoke—a wooden farming tool essential for plowing fields and hauling loads in early American agriculture. Rendered in watercolor, graphite, pen and ink with heightening on p...