Weather Vane Pattern
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 37.9 x 56.1 cm (14 15/16 x 22 1/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 35 5/8" long; 16 3/4" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16318
Art Historical Context
**Weather Vane Pattern** by Winifred L, created around 1939, is a captivating rendering from the Index of American Design (IAD), a Federal Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). ambitious Depression-era initiative employed artists to document everyday American folk art through precise, colorful drawings, preserving cultural heritage at risk of being lost. Luten's work captures the intricate pattern of a traditional weather vane—originally 35 5/8 inches long and 3/4 inches high—highlighting its functional beauty in rural American life, where such vanes atop barns and homes pointed...