Wick Trimmer
c. 1939
Medium
watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 23.3 x 28 cm (9 3/16 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 5 1/4" long; 4 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
1943.8.9131
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's collection, *Wick Trimmer* (c. 1939) by Leslie Macklem captures the humble beauty of an everyday American tool—a small implement, originally 5¼ inches long and 4½ inches wide used for neatly trimming candle wicks. Rendered at 23.3 x 28 cm on paper, this work is part of the Index of American Design (IAD a groundbreaking WPA Federal Art Project from the 1930s that employed artists to document the nation's folk art and crafts during the Great Depression. Macklem's precise depiction highlights the object's functional elegance, likely rooted in early American house...