Shaker Spiral Staircase
c. 1938
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 30.7 x 23 cm (12 1/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13656
Art Historical Context
**Shaker Spiral Staircase by George V. Volles, created around 1938, captures the elegant simplicity of Shaker craftsmanship in a precise rendering of a spiral staircase. This watercolor, graphite, and colored work on paperboard measures 30.7 x 23 cm and belongs to the National Gallery of Art Index of American Design collection Vezolles, an artist participating in this ambitious WPA-era project, meticulously documented everyday American objects to celebrate the nation's folk art heritage during the Great Depression. The Shakers, a 19th-century religious community, were renowned for their minim...
About the Artist
George V. Vezolles
George Victor Vezolles Jr. (1885–1956) was an American artist best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project from 1936 to 1942 aimed at documenting the nation's folk and decorative arts. Born in Kentucky around 1886, Vezolles produced over 200 precise renderings for the project, with more than 40 now housed in the Na...