Restoration Drawing: Wall Decoration Over Doorway in Mission House
1937
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.7 x 27.8 cm (14 1/16 x 10 15/16 in.) Original IAD Object: Approx. 4'6" x 6'
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.5972
Art Historical Context
This delicate 1937 drawing by Geoffrey Holt captures a decorative wall panel positioned above a doorway in a historic Mission House. Created as part of the Index of American Design—a Federal Art Project initiative to document America’s decorative arts heritage—the work records an original motif measuring roughly four-and-a-half by six feet. Through meticulous observation, Holt preserved the design for future study and potential restoration, ensuring that regional craftsmanship from earlier centuries would not be lost. Executed in a combination of watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, and g...
About the Artist
Geoffrey Holt
Geoffrey Holt was born in England on August 18, 1882, and received his artistic training in London and Paris before eventually making his career in the United States. After arriving in America, he lived in Minneapolis, where he worked as an interior designer for the John S. Bradstreet Company—an experience that developed his sensitivity to space, surface, and decorative harmony. By around 1920 he ...