Seat Table
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 35.5 x 45.7 cm (14 x 18 in.) Original IAD Object: Table top: 62 x 37 1/2". Seat: 44"long, 17"deep, and 17"high. See d.s.
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.5925
Art Historical Context
In the late 1930s, as part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), artist Paul Poffinbarger created this meticulous rendering of a "Seat Table" around 1939. Titled *Seat Table*, it belongs to the Index of American Design, a monumental effort to document everyday American folk art and craftsmanship through over 18,000 precise watercolor illustrations. This project celebrated the ingenuity of vernacular design during the Great Depression, preserving cultural heritage for future generations. Rendered in watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paperboard (mea...