Wooden Harrow or Cultivator
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 40.9 x 48.4 cm (16 1/8 x 19 1/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 37" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13014
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Great Depression, artist Wilbur M. Rice captured the sturdy elegance of American agricultural ingenuity with his *Wooden Harrow or Cultiv* (c. 1937). This detailed watercolor and graphite rendering on paper, measuring 40.9 x 48.4 cm, depicts a traditional 37-inch-long wooden farm tool used for breaking up soil and weeding crops. Rice's precise lines and vibrant washes highlight the harrow's handcrafted joints, curved tines, and weatheredina, evoking the labor-intensive world of 19th-century rural America. Created as part of the Index of American Design—a groundbreaking WPA...
About the Artist
Wilbur M Rice
**Wilbur M. Rice (1909–1974)** was an American artist best known for his meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Active primarily between 1935 and 1942, Rice produced detailed watercolor, gouache, and graphite renderings of everyday American folk objects, tools, toys, and crafts. Thes...