Sewing Bird
c. 1937
Medium
graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 28 x 21.8 cm (11 x 8 9/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 2 1/2" long; 3 1/2" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13521
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Sewing Bird*, a graphite drawing on paperboard by Columbus Simpson, created around 1937. This precise rendering captures a charming 19th-century sewing—originally just 2½ inches long and 3 inches high—shaped like a perky bird with a hinged beak that clamps fabric taut for stitching. Measuring 28 x 21.8 cm overall, Simpson's work showcases fine lines and subtle shading, highlighting the object's whimsical form and functional elegance. Part of the *Index of American Design* (IAD), a WPA Federal Art Project from 1935–1942, this piece belongs to a vast archive of over 18,000 ...
About the Artist
Columbus Simpson
Columbus Simpson is an artist about whom detailed biographical information is not widely documented in the major art historical literature. No confirmed birth or death dates have been established, and the details of his training, nationality, and primary period of activity remain unclear from available published sources. The presence of works attributed to Columbus Simpson in institutional collec...