Shaker Case for Knitting Needles
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 37.7 x 26.1 cm (14 13/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13664
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Shaker Case for Knittingles*, a 1935/1942 watercolor and graphite rendering on paper by Elizabeth Mout, measuring 37.7 x 26.1 cm. Part of the esteemed Index of American Design—a Works Progress Administration (WPA initiative during the Great Depression—this artwork meticulously documents a functional Shaker craft object, preserving America's folk heritage through precise artistic reproduction. The Shakers, a celibate religious sect founded in the 18th century were renowned for their minimalist aesthetic and superb craftsmanship, guided by principles of simplicity, utility,...
About the Artist
Elizabeth Moutal
Elizabeth Moutal is an artist whose work survives in museum collections in sufficient quantity to indicate a genuine and sustained career, even as the historical record has preserved little biographical information about her origins, training, or the arc of her professional life. Her name and her works endure where so much else has been lost, a quiet testament to the durability of artistic product...