Wooden Decoy
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 38.2 x 49.3 cm (15 1/16 x 19 7/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.9626
Art Historical Context
**Wooden Decoy** by Chris Makrenos, created around 1937, is a captivating rendering from the *Index of American Design*IAD), a New Deal-era project under the Works Progress Administration. This initiative employed artists across the U.S. to document everyday objects of American folk art and craftsmanship through precise, colorful illustrations. Makrenos's work captures a wooden duck decoy—a practical yet artful tool used by hunters to lure waterfowl—highlighting the ingenuity of regional carvers in places like the Atlantic Flyway or Great Lakes. Rendered in watercolor, graphite, and colored p...
About the Artist
Chris Makrenos
Chris Makrenos was an American artist active in the mid-twentieth century who contributed a substantial body of work to the Index of American Design, the New Deal-era federal project that documented American folk art and decorative culture through meticulous watercolor illustration. His works are held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and span a wide range of subjects drawn from ...