Platter

Art Historical Context

This watercolor, graphite, and pen-and-ink rendering of a platter, created by Joseph Sudek around 1937, belongs to the Index of American Design at the National Gallery of Art. Measuring about 9 by 10 inches, it faithfully records an original serving piece roughly 10¼ inches long, 6¾ inches wide, and 1¾ inches deep. The mixed-media technique on paperboard allowed artists to capture precise contours, surfaces, and decorative details with both scientific accuracy and artistic sensitivity. The Index of American Design was a New Deal project of the Federal Art Project that employed skilled artists during the Great Depression to document America’s vanishing decorative arts and crafts. From colonial times through the nineteenth century, everyday objects such as platters embodied regional styles, materials, and the ingenuity of American makers. Sudek’s contribution helped build a visual archive that preserved this heritage for future study and appreciation. Viewers today can enjoy the work on two levels: as a beautiful still-life drawing in its own right and as a window onto the functional beauty of historic American household design. It reminds us how ordinary objects once carried both practical purpose and quiet aesthetic pride.

About the Artist

Joseph Sudek

Josef Sudek (1896–1976) was a Czech photographer widely regarded as one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, known for his poetic, intimate images of Prague and his mastery of light. Born in Kolín, Bohemia, he lost his right arm during World War I and turned to photography during his convalescence, studying at the State School of Graphic Arts in Prague from 1922 to 1924. Sudek ...