Scrimshaw: Walrus Tusk
1941
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paper
Dimensions
overall: 45.9 x 59 cm (18 1/16 x 23 1/4 in.) Original IAD Object: 5" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13722
Art Historical Context
This vibrant watercolor rendering, titled *Scrimshaw: Walrus Tusk*, was created in 1941 by artist Oscar Bluhme as part of the Index of American Design (IAD), a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s and 1940s. The IAD commissioned over 15,000 precise illustrations to document America's rich folk and decorative arts, preserving objects that might otherwise be lost to time. Bluhme's detailed depiction captures a 5-inch-long walrus tusk adorned with intricate scrimshaw engravings—a traditional maritime craft practiced by whalers and sailors using whalebone, ivory, or tusks as canva...