Police Rattle
1940
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paper
Dimensions
overall: 38 x 29.1 cm (14 15/16 x 11 7/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13379
Art Historical Context
Step into the vivid world of American folk design with *Police Rattle*, a 1940 rendering by artist Carl Buergerniss. Created using watercolor, graphite, pen and ink on paper (measuring 38 x 29.1 cm), this work captures the intricate details of a traditional wooden noisemaker once used by law enforcement. Buergerniss's precise lines and subtle color washes bring to life the rattle's carved handle, geared mechanism, and pivoting wooden slats—elements that produced a distinctive clattering sound to alert crowds or summon aid. As part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under t...
About the Artist
Carl Buergerniss
**Carl Buergerniss** (1877–1956) was an American artist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who later made his home in Island Heights, New Jersey. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a leading institution that shaped many American artists of his era, and exhibited there regularly from 1901 to 1930. While specific teachers are not documented in available sources, his training a...