Waistcoat
c. 1938
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 29.3 x 22.7 cm (11 9/16 x 8 15/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.1600
Art Historical Context
Grace Halpin's *Waistcoat*, created 1938, is a captivating watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard from the Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). during the Great Depression, the IAD employed artists across the U.S. to meticulously document everyday American folk and decorative arts through detailed illustrations. Halpin, based in California, contributed numerous such works, preserving the nation's cultural heritage at a time when economic hardship threatened access to historical objects. Measuring 29.3 x 22.7 cm, this int...
About the Artist
Grace Halpin
**Grace Halpin (1909–1978)** was an American artist best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s and 1940s. This ambitious initiative commissioned artists to create detailed renderings of everyday American folk and decorative arts, preserving cultural artifacts through watercolor an...