Pitcher
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.8 x 27.5 cm (14 1/8 x 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.10530
Art Historical Context
**Pitcher** by Robert Stewart (c. 1936) is a meticulous rendering of an everyday American object, captured in watercolor, gouache, and on paper (35.8 x 27.5 cm). This delicate mixed-media technique allowed Stewart to achieve vibrant colors, subtle shading, and precise lines, evoking the pitcher's form with lifelike accuracy. Gouache's opacity added depth to highlights and shadows, while graphite provided fine details, making the work both artistic and documentary. Created as part of the **Index of American Design**, New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) project from the 1930s, this...
About the Artist
Robert Stewart
Robert Stewart was an American artist who worked during the New Deal era, contributing to the Index of American Design — one of the most ambitious cultural documentation projects in United States history. Sponsored by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1942, the Index employed hundreds of artists across the country to create meticulous watercolor renderings of Ame...