Shaker Man's Sock
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.9 x 24.9 cm (14 1/8 x 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16946
Art Historical Context
Behold the humble yet exquisite *Shaker Man's Sock*, watercolor and graphite rendering by Alice Stearns, around 1936. This delicate work, measuring 35.9 x 24.9 cm, captures essence of Shaker craftsmanship—a religious community renowned for their austere, functional aesthetic born from 19th-century celibate communes in America. Shakers emphasized simplicity, durability, and precision in everyday objects, turning even socks into testaments of disciplined artistry and communal harmony. As part of the Index of American Design, a landmark WPA Federal Art Project from the Great Depression era (1935...
About the Artist
Alice Stearns
Alice Stearns was an American artist active around 1935, renowned for her precise watercolor and gouache renderings of everyday American folk art objects. Working under the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project, she contributed to the Index of American Design, a Depression-era initiative launched in 1935 to document the nation's crafts, decorative arts, and vernacular designs b...