Silver Funeral Spoon

Art Historical Context

This delicate rendering of a silver funeral spoon captures a poignant artifact of American material culture from the 1930s. Created by artist Jack Staloff around 1936 as part of the Index of American Design, the drawing belongs to a remarkable New Deal initiative that employed hundreds of artists to document historic decorative arts across the United States. Through precise graphite and colored pencil work on paper measuring roughly 11 by 9 inches, Staloff faithfully records an original spoon just 7⅝ inches long, preserving its form for future generations at a time when many such objects risked being lost or forgotten. The choice of medium highlights the project’s emphasis on accuracy and accessibility. Unlike watercolor renderings common in the Index, this graphite and colored pencil approach allows for fine detail and subtle tonal variation, evoking the cool sheen of silver while remaining practical for widespread reproduction. Funeral spoons, often linked to mourning customs or commemorative rituals, reflect deeper cultural traditions of remembrance in early American communities. Today, the work stands as both an artistic record and a window into the nation’s design heritage. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s collection, it reminds viewers how everyday objects can embody stories of craftsmanship, memory, and national identity.

About the Artist

Jack Staloff · 1855–present

Jack Staloff was an American artist and designer active during the 1930s and 1940s, best known for his contributions to the Index of American Design, a New Deal-era Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This ambitious initiative commissioned artists across the United States to create precise watercolor and graphite renderings of everyday American crafts, tools, and dec...