Side Chair

Art Historical Context

This delicate pen and ink drawing with graphite highlights, created by Lawrence Phillips around 1936, captures elegant lines of a classic American side chair. Measuring just 20.8 x 26.9 cm, the artwork is a precise rendering from the Index of American Design (IAD), a landmark WPA Federal Art Project initiative during the Great Depression. Phillips' meticulous technique—combining fluid ink strokes for contours with subtle graphite shading—brings the chair's proportions to life, evoking its original stature of 45 inches high, 18 inches long, and 14 inches wide. The IAD, active from 1935 to 1942, employed artists across the U.S. to document everyday objects of American craftsmanship, from furniture to folk art, preserving cultural heritage amid economic hardship. This side chair exemplifies early 20th-century domestic design, likely reflecting regional woodworking traditions with its balanced form and functional grace. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, Phillips' study underscores the beauty in utilitarian objects, celebrating America's design legacy for future generations. (178 words)