Plane

Art Historical Context

Mary Hansen's *Plane* (c. 1939) is a captivating watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil rendering on paper, measuring 26.7 x 35.5 cm. Created as part of the Index of American Design—a landmark Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression—this artwork meticulously documents a traditional woodworking plane, an everyday tool measuring 2 inches high, 2½ inches wide, and 10 inches long. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, it exemplifies the era's commitment to preserving America's folk craft heritage through artistic precision. The Index of American Design, active from 1935 to 1942, employed hundreds of artists to produce over 15,000 watercolor plates of utilitarian objects, from quilts to tools, celebrating the ingenuity of American makers. Hansen's depiction highlights the plane's functional beauty: its smooth wooden body, iron blade, and ergonomic handle, rendered with vibrant hues and fine graphite lines to capture texture and form. This technique allowed for faithful yet artistic reproductions, bridging fine art and documentation. As a symbol of 19th- and early 20th-century craftsmanship, the plane evokes the self-reliant spirit of American woodworkers and builders. Hansen's work not only safeguards these designs from obsolescence but invites us to appreciate the artistry in the ordinary, reminding visitors of our shared cultural legacy.