Tin Mirror Frame

Art Historical Context

Majel G. Claflin's *Tin Mirror Frame* (c. 1937) is a captivating rendering from the Index of American Design, a landmark WPA Federal Art Project that employed artists during the Great Depression to document America's folk art and decorative traditions. This detailed watercolor, graphite, and white gouache on paper24.4 x 33.4 cm) captures intricate craftsmanship of a 24-inch-high tin mirror, likely a 19th-century American folk object. Such tinware was popular in households for its affordability and whimsical pierced designs, reflecting everyday ingenuity and regional aesthetics. Created amid economic hardship, Claflin's work exemplifies the Index's mission to preserve vanishing cultural artifacts through precise, vibrant illustrations. Her use of layered watercolor for luminous color, graphite for fine lines, and white gouache for highlights mimics the reflective sheen of polished tin, making the mundane extraordinary. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, this piece highlights how folk designs influenced broader American identity. Today, it invites visitors to appreciate the unsung artistry of ordinary objects, bridging past craftsmanship with modern appreciation.

About the Artist

Majel G. Claflin · 1893–1941

Majel G. Claflin (1893–1941) was an American artist best known for her meticulous documentation of Spanish Colonial folk art from northern New Mexico. Active in Taos, New Mexico, during the late 1930s, she produced watercolor renderings as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration that aimed to catalog regional American crafts and tradition...