Vase
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, graphite, pen and ink, and gouache on paperboard
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.11348
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate rendering of *Vase* by Janet Riza, created around 1937 as part of the Index of American Design. This vibrant work on paperboard employs watercolor, graphite, pen and ink, and gouache to meticulously capture the form and decoration of an everyday American object, transforming it into a celebration of national craftsmanship. Commissioned under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Index of American Design (1935–1942) employed over 400 artists to document thousands of folk art and decorative objects. Riza's contrib...
About the Artist
Janet Riza
Janet Riza was an American artist active during the 1930s and early 1940s, renowned for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project initiative launched amid the Great Depression to document America's rich heritage of decorative arts and crafts. Little is known about her early life or formal training, which remains sparsely...