Shoe

Art Historical Context

**Shoe** by Virginia, created between 1935 and 1942, is a captivating rendering from the *Index of American Design*, landmark WPA Federal Art Project initiative during the Great Depression. program employed artists across the U.S. document everyday American folk and decorative arts through meticulous, colorful illustrations, preserving cultural heritage at a time of economic hardship. Berge's work exemplifies this mission, transforming a humble shoe into a study of craftsmanship and design history. Crafted in watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard, the compact 23.3 x 23.1 cm (9 3/16 x 9 1/8 in.) piece showcases precise techniques that capture texture, form, and subtle hues. These media allowed for vibrant yet accurate depictions, blending fluidity of watercolor with the fine lines of graphite and pencil—ideal for highlighting the shoe's structural details and ornamental elements reflective of American material culture. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-W department, this artwork underscores the *Index*'s enduring significance: elevating ordinary objects as symbols of national identity and ingenuity. Visitors today can appreciate how Berge's skilled hand bridges artistry and history, inviting us to see the beauty in the everyday.

About the Artist

Virginia Berge · 1855–present

Virginia Berge was an American artist active around 1935 whose surviving body of work consists of meticulously rendered watercolor and graphite illustrations of historic clothing and accessories. Her early life and formal training are not well documented. She is known exclusively through her participation in the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration t...