Willow-Bound Flask
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 40.7 x 32.4 cm (16 x 12 3/4 in.) Original IAD Object: 5" high; 5" wide; 3" thick
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8772
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
**Willow-Bound Flask***Frank Gray, c. 1940* Watercolor, graphite, andache on paper, 40.7 × 32.4 cm (16 × 12 3/4 in.) *Index of American Design, National Gallery of Art* into the charming world of American folk craft with Frank Gray's *Willow-Bound Flask a meticulous rendering from around 1940. This artwork captures a modest yet ingenious object—a small flask, measuring just 5 inches high,, and 3 inches—encased in woven willow, likely a practical vessel from everyday American life. Gray's skilled hand brings to life the flask's textured bark, supple willow bindings, and subtle curves, evoking the resourcefulness of rural craftsmanship. Created as part of the *Index of American Design*, a groundbreaking Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, this piece belongs to a vast archive of over 18,000 watercolor renderings. Launched in 1935, the Index aimed to document and celebrate the nation's diverse folk art and design heritage, from quilts to weather vanes, preserving cultural treasures amid economic hardship. Gray, one of hundreds of artists involved, contributed to this effort by faithfully reproducing objects in museums and private collections. The mixed media—watercolor for luminous color, graphite for precise lines, and gouache for opaque highlights—lend a lifelike quality, bridging fine art and documentary precision. Displayed in the National Gallery of Art, *Willow-Bound Flask* reminds us of America's inventive spirit, where humble materials like willow transformed the ordinary into the enduring. (198 words)
About the Artist
Frank Gray · 1889–1962
Frank Gray is an artist whose works are held in institutional collections, though comprehensive biographical information — including birth and death dates, nationality, and artistic training — remains difficult to establish from currently available sources. The relative obscurity of his biographical record is not uncommon among artists who worked outside the major metropolitan centers or the most ...