Woman Churning
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 17.9 x 17 cm (7 1/16 x 6 11/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 4 1/2" high; 4" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.16655
Art Historical Context
**Woman Churning** by Mina Lowry, created around 1936, is a delicate watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paperboard, measuring just 17.9 x 17 cm. This intimate work captures a small folk art object—originally 4½ inches high and 4 inches long—depicting a woman engaged in the everyday task of churning butter, a nod to rural American domestic life. As part of the *Index of American Design*, Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, Lowry's piece exemplifies a national effort to document and celebrate America's folk art and craftsmanship. Arti...
About the Artist
Mina Lowry
Mina Lowry (1894–1942), an American artist born in Canada, emerged as a prominent portrait painter whose career bridged traditional portraiture and the documentation of American folk art. Immigrating to Buffalo, New York, with her family around 1901, she honed her skills early on, winning first prize for modeling at the Albright Art School and studying under the esteemed Florence J. Bach. Lowry fu...