Plate

Art Historical Context

This vibrant rendering of a humble yet elegantly crafted plate, created by artist Byron Dingman around 1938, captures the essence of American folk design through meticulous detail. Part of the National Gallery of's renowned Index of American Design collection, the work depicts an original object measuring 8 7/8 inches in diameter, with an interior depth of 7/8 inch, width of 6 1/4 inches, and exterior height of 1 3/16 inches—likely a shallow dish or plate showcasing everyday craftsmanship from America's past. Produced under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, Dingman's piece exemplifies the Index of American Design, a monumental effort to document and celebrate the nation's decorative arts, folk objects, and indigenous crafts. Over 15,000 such renderings were made by artists nationwide, preserving cultural heritage at a time of economic hardship and fostering national pride in American ingenuity. Employing watercolor, graphite, gouache, and pen ink on paperboard (45.1 x 35.5 cm overall), Dingman achieves a luminous, almost three-dimensional quality, blending photorealistic precision with artistic flair. This technique highlights the plate's subtle curves, textures, and possibly hand-painted motifs, inviting viewers to appreciate the artistry in ordinary objects and their role in shaping American identity.

About the Artist

Byron Dingman · 1886–1951

Byron Dingman (1886–1951) was an American artist whose career, though sparsely documented in personal terms, gained significance through his contributions to the Index of American Design, a New Deal-era Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Active primarily in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dingman produced meticulous renderings of everyday American folk art objects, ...