Pitcher
1935/1942
Medium
colored pencil and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.3 x 22.1 cm (11 15/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.7081
Art Historical Context
Gertrude Lemberg's *Pitcher* (1935/1942) is a captivating rendering from the Index of American Design, a WPA Federal Art Project initiative during the Great Depression. in 1935, this program employed artists across the U.S. meticulously document everyday American folk art, crafts, and design objects through precise, colorful drawings. Lemberg, a skilled draftsman in this effort, captured the humble yet elegant form of a traditional pitcher—likely a ceramic or earthenware vessel emblematic of early American craftsmanship—preserving its cultural heritage for future generations. Rendered in colo...
About the Artist
Gertrude Lemberg
Gertrude Lemberg was an American artist who contributed to the Index of American Design during the New Deal era, creating detailed watercolor renderings of American clothing and domestic objects that are now held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Her documented works include Brocaded Silk Dress (c. 1939), Dress (c. 1940), Glass (c. 1940), Vase (c. 1940), Petticoat Dress (c. 1941), ...