Wooden Plow
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper
Dimensions
overall: 24.1 x 35.9 cm (9 1/2 x 14 1/8 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.13284
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Wooden Plow* by Majel G. Claflin, a captivating watercolor, graphite, and gouache on paper from around 1937. Measuring 24.1 x 35.9 cm, this piece is a treasured entry in the Index of American Design, a Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. in 1935, the Index commissioned artists across the U.S. to document everyday American folk objects, crafts, and designs, creating a visual archive of the nation's cultural heritage. Claflin's artwork showcases a traditional wooden plow—an essential tool of early American agriculture—with precise grap...
About the Artist
Majel G. Claflin
Majel G. Claflin (1893–1941) was an American artist best known for her meticulous documentation of Spanish Colonial folk art from northern New Mexico. Active in Taos, New Mexico, during the late 1930s, she produced watercolor renderings as part of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration that aimed to catalog regional American crafts and tradition...