Tongs and Shovel

Art Historical Context

This delicate rendering of tongs and a shovel belongs to the Index of American Design, a Works Progress Administration project launched during the Great Depression. Between 1935 and 1942, hundreds of artists created more than 18,000 precise watercolor renderings of American decorative arts and everyday objects, preserving a visual record of the nation’s material culture at a time when many historic artifacts faced loss or destruction. Hans Korsch executed the study in graphite and watercolor on paperboard, a combination that allowed both sharp linear detail and subtle tonal modeling. The original iron tools, measuring 36½ inches long, were likely domestic hearth implements common in 19th-century American homes. By recording their form, proportions, and surface texture at roughly one-third scale, Korsch transformed humble utilitarian objects into subjects worthy of careful artistic attention. Today the sheet serves as both an aesthetic document and a historical artifact, illustrating how government-sponsored art projects elevated ordinary American craftsmanship to national significance. Its presence in the National Gallery of Art reminds viewers that even the simplest tools can embody the ingenuity and daily life of earlier generations.

About the Artist

Hans Korsch · 1855–present

Hans Korsch was an American artist active during the mid-20th century, primarily around 1935 to the early 1950s, best known for his contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project initiative under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This ambitious New Deal program employed artists to document everyday American folk art and design objects through precise watercolor renderi...