Roasting Stand with Drip Pan

Art Historical Context

Behold the *Roasting Stand with D Pan*, a meticulous 1938 rendering by Roy Weber, crafted in graphite, watercolor, and ink on paper (49.4 x 37.7 cm). This yet precise drawing captures an everyday American kitchen essential—a sturdy stand designed to hold meat over a fire, with a drip pan to catch flavorful juices—evoking the hearths of colonial and early American homes. Created as part of the *Index of American Design*IAD), a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935–1942), Weber's work documents the nation's rich folk craft heritage. The IAD commissioned over 15,000 such illustrations by artists nationwide to preserve vanishing artisanal traditions amid industrialization, blending artistic skill with anthropological insight. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, it highlights how functional objects embodied American ingenuity and self-reliance. Weber's technique—fine graphite lines for structure, vibrant watercolors for texture, and ink for definition—exemplifies the IAD's photorealistic style, making historical artifacts accessible and alive. This piece invites us to savor the ingenuity of our forebears' daily life, where every tool told a story of sustenance and survival.

About the Artist

Roy Weber · 1855–present

**Roy Weber** was an American artist active circa 1935, best known for his precise watercolor and graphite renderings created as part of the Index of American Design. This ambitious Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression sought to document and preserve America’s folk and decorative arts through detailed illustrations. Weber produced at least 22 such works, now in ...