Water Cooler
1941
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 36.5 x 28.8 cm (14 3/8 x 11 5/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 18" High 13" Dia.(top) 10" Dia.(base)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.5056
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Index of American Design, "Water Cooler" by John Tarantino (1941 offers a meticulous watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard, measuring 36.5 x 28.8 cm. This vivid depiction captures an everyday American object—a functional water cooler standing 18 inches high with 13-inch top diameter tapering to 10 inches at the base—likely a vessel from rural life, evoking the ingenuity of pre-refrigeration households. Created during the final years of the Federal Art under the Works Progress Administration (PA), part of President Roosevelt's New Deal, the Index (1935–1942...
About the Artist
John Tarantino
John Tarantino was an American artist active from around 1935 to 1953, best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This ambitious initiative commissioned artists across the United States to create precise renderings of everyday folk art objects, preserving the nation's vernacular design heritage a...