Woven Textile
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 36.9 x 29.1 cm (14 1/2 x 11 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
1943.8.574
Art Historical Context
Created between 1935 and 1942, this delicate rendering of a woven textile belongs to the Index of American Design, a Works Progress Administration initiative that employed artists to document the nation’s decorative arts heritage during the Great Depression. Cornelius Christoffels captured the intricate patterns and textures of the original fabric with remarkable precision, ensuring that regional designs and craftsmanship would be preserved for future generations even if the physical objects were lost or damaged. The work combines watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paper, a technique fa...
About the Artist
Cornelius Christoffels
Cornelius Christoffels, born in the Netherlands on April 6, 1879, was a freelance artist known for landscape painting and commercial illustration. His early life and artistic training remain sparsely documented, with no records of specific teachers or art schools. In 1922, he immigrated to the United States, settling first in Los Angeles, California, where he built a career over many years creatin...