Shaker Man's Trousers
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 36 x 24.7 cm (14 3/16 x 9 3/4 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.3943
Art Historical Context
**Shaker Man's Trousers** *Alice Stearns, c. 1936* Watercolor and graphite on, 36 x 24.7 cm Index of American Design, National of Art Created by artist Alice Stearns as part of the Index of American Design—a WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s—this watercolor rendering meticulously documents a pair of trousers emblematic of Shaker craftsmanship. Launched during the Great Depression, the Index employed artists across America to preserve everyday objects through detailed, colorful illustrations, safeguarding cultural heritage amid economic hardship. Stearns' work captures the Shakers...
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...