Walnut Screw Clamp
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 42.9 x 32.4 cm (16 7/8 x 12 3/4 in.) Original IAD Object: pegs: 8" long; jaws: 4" long, 4" square
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9422
Art Historical Context
**Walnut Screw Clamp***George File, c. 1937* Watercolor and graphite on paper, 42.9 × 32.4 cm (⅞ × 12¾ in.) *Index of American Design, National Gallery of Art* This precise rendering by artist George File captures the elegant simplicity of a walnut screw clamp a utilitarian woodworking tool with 8-inch pegs and 4-inch jaws. Created around 1937, artwork showcases the clamp's smooth curves and functional design, highlighting the craftsmanship of early American makers who prized durable hardwoods like walnut for their strength and beauty. As part of the Index of American Design—a New Deal-e...
About the Artist
George File
George File is an artist whose work survives in museum collections in sufficient number to indicate a sustained and productive career, even though the biographical details that might place him within a specific artistic tradition — his dates, his nationality, his training — have not been established in the sources currently accessible to researchers. His name appears consistently enough across ins...