Weather Vane - Cock
c. 1938
Medium
graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 34.9 x 37.7 cm (13 3/4 x 14 13/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 35" high; 32 1/2" wide
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16137
Art Historical Context
Behold the intricate *Weather Vane - Cock a graphite drawing on paperboard by Helen Hobart created around 1938. Measuring 34.9 x 37.7 cm, this precise rendering captures the bold silhouette of a traditional rooster weather vane—a quintessential piece of American folk art. Hobart's meticulous lines evoke the original object's impressive scale (35 inches high and 32½ inches wide), highlighting its dynamic form poised to spin with the wind. This artwork is a gem from the Index of American Design, a WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s that employed artists to document everyday American crafts ...
About the Artist
Helen Hobart
Helen Hobart is an artist about whom the historical record offers limited documentation. Her nationality, dates of birth and death, and formal training have not been firmly established in the sources currently available to scholars, making a detailed account of her life and career difficult to provide with confidence. The works attributed to Hobart indicate an artist with evident technical skill ...