Pitcher

Art Historical Context

Yolande Delasser's *Pitcher* (c. 1936) is a vibrant rendering of an everyday American design object, captured through graphite, colored pencil, and on paper. Measuring 29.5 x 23.1 cm, this intimate-scale work showcases the artist's meticulous hand in depicting form, texture, and subtle color variations, blending the precision of graphite outlines with the luminosity of watercolor washes and the richness of colored pencil highlights. Created as part of the Index of American Design—a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project during the Great Depression—this drawing documents the nation's folk and decorative arts heritage. Launched in 1935, the Index employed hundreds of artists to produce over 15,000 watercolor renderings of objects like pottery, furniture, and tools, preserving cultural artifacts amid economic hardship and fostering national pride in American craftsmanship. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, *Pitcher* exemplifies the project's artistic significance: not mere copies, but interpretive studies that elevated utilitarian items to icons of design history. Delasser's technique invites viewers to appreciate the pitcher's graceful curves and functional beauty, reminding us how such humble vessels shaped daily life in early America.

About the Artist

Yolande Delasser · 1855–present

Yolande Delasser was an American artist active during the mid-1930s, best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Amid the Great Depression, this ambitious New Deal initiative commissioned artists to document America's rich heritage of folk art and utilitarian objects through precise watercolor ren...