Toast Rack
c. 1936
Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 23 x 30 cm (9 1/16 x 11 13/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 16 1/2" long; 13 3/4" wide; 4 1/2" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15138
Art Historical Context
**Toast Rack**, a meticulous graphite drawing by Mildred Ford around 1936, captures elegant form of an everyday American household object: a toast rack designed to hold slices of bread upright for cooling. Rendered on a 23 x 30 cm sheet of paper, the artwork faithfully reproduces the original's dimensions—16½ inches long, 13 inches wide, and ½ inches high—showcasing its sturdy, practical structure likely rooted in early 20th-century domestic design. As part of the National Gallery of Art's collection, this piece belongs to the Index of American Design (IAD), a treasure trove of visual records ...
About the Artist
Mildred Ford
Mildred Ford (1895–1988) was an American artist whose career is indelibly linked to the Index of American Design, a monumental Works Progress Administration (WPA) project launched in the 1930s to document the nation's rich heritage of decorative arts and folk objects. Through her precise renderings, Ford helped preserve intricate details of everyday artifacts—from toleware utensils to Pennsylvania...