Soap Kettle
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 30.4 x 23.1 cm (11 15/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11941
Art Historical Context
**Soap Kettle**, a captivating watercolor and graphite rendering by Clyde L. Cheney around 1937, meticulously documents a humble yet essential artifact of American domestic life: a large iron kettle used for boiling animal fats and lye to produce soap. 30.4 x 23.1 cm, this work belongs to the National Gallery of's Index of American Design (Department CG-W), inviting visitors to appreciate the ingenuity of everyday objects that sustained pioneer households and early industries. Created during the Great Depression as part of the Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA),...
About the Artist
Clyde L. Cheney
Clyde L. Cheney is an artist about whom little is currently known. No dates of birth or death have been established, and his nationality and artistic training are not documented in surviving historical records. With nearly fifty works attributed to him in institutional collections, Cheney's output points to an active career. The middle initial suggests a deliberate professional identity, but corr...