Salt Dip

Art Historical Context

**Salt Dip** *John Dana, c. 1936* Watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, and graphite on paperboard Index of American Design, National Gallery of Art Step into the charming world of American folk art with John Dana's *Salt Dip* (c. 1936), a meticulous rendering from the Index of American Design. This mixed-media work on paperboard—employing vibrant watercolor and gouache for color, precise pen and ink lines, and graphite for fine details—captures a humble yet elegant salt dip, a small table vessel essential to early American households. Dana's technique brings out the object's subtle textures and form, transforming everyday utility into artistic celebration. Created during the Great Depression as part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Index commissioned over 15,000 such illustrations to document and preserve the nation's decorative arts heritage. Artists like Dana meticulously studied artifacts in museums and private collections, ensuring accurate representations that highlighted regional craftsmanship and cultural traditions. *Salt Dip* exemplifies the project's dual role in job creation for artists and cultural preservation, reminding us of the ingenuity in America's vernacular design. Today, it invites visitors to appreciate how ordinary objects reflect the spirit of a young nation.

About the Artist

John Dana · 1855–present

**John Dana** (American, active c. 1935) was a meticulous draftsman whose artistic legacy is inextricably linked to the Index of American Design, a landmark Works Progress Administration (WPA) project launched during the Great Depression to catalog and celebrate the nation's folk art and craftsmanship. Operating primarily out of the New York City project, Dana produced hundreds of precise renderin...