Puppet - "Chinese Minstrel"
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 27.9 cm (14 1/16 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 40" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15679
Art Historical Context
Behold the captivating *Puppet - "Chinesestrel"*, a meticulously rendered watercolor, graphite, and gouache by artist Vera Van Voris, created around 1936. This artwork captures the essence of a 40-inch-tall folk puppet, measuring 35.7 x 27.9 cm on paper, as part of the Index of American Design (IAD)—a landmark Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Launched during the Great Depression, the IAD employed hundreds of artists to document everyday American crafts and folk objects through vibrant, precise renderings, celebrating the nation's cultural heritage and providi...
About the Artist
Vera Van Voris
Vera Van Voris is an artist whose works have been preserved in museum collections in sufficient number to indicate a serious and sustained artistic practice, even though her biographical details — birth and death dates, nationality, and the particulars of her training — remain undocumented in the standard art-historical literature. Her distinctive name suggests possible Dutch or Central European h...