American Model: Origins of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project
Words on Pictures: Romana and the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. edited by Anthony T. Troncale. New York: Photo | Verso Publications, LLC, 2020. ISBN 978-1-7346409-0-8 (hardcover) Identifiers ISBN 978-1-7346409-1-5 (ebook)
American Model: Origins of the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project
American 20th Century
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paper overall: 20 x 25.4 cm (7 7/8 x 10 in.)
Index of American Design
1943.8.16986
IAD-20140728-0019.jpg
By 1949 the Index was deposited at the National Gallery and Cahill was asked to write an introduction for Erwin O. Christensen’s book: The Index of American Design (New York: Macmillan, 1950).
“Our staff was constantly frustrated by the lack of pictures to answer constant inquiries. We were besieged by foreign visitors and recently emigrated artists who asked over and over again for the American record – What kind of clothes the farmer wore in 1810; was there a tradition in the use of overalls in America; did we have pictures of all sides of the sun bonnet; where could they see a cigar Indian? It seemed shameful to me then that we had not developed pride enough in our own past to record the appearance of what the people wore, the details of their kitchens, their tools, their houses, their shops and toys.”
The Index of American
Design was the answer to two pressing needs for Javitz, which she recalls
with great clarity. One was to fill what she saw were large gaps in the
historical American record, and the other was to provide relief to out of work
illustrators and artists. The Index of American Design was a picture
collection designed from scratch and was an “amplification and a natural growth
of the service we were then giving the public”.
Boston Town Coverlet. 1770. Watercolor rendering created for the Index of American Design
Fossum, Magnus S.American, 1888 – 1980. 1935/1942 watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paper overall: 67.3 x 54.2 cm (26 1/2 x 21 5/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 84" long; 96" wide. Index of American Design. 1943.8.2895
Federal Art Project (N.Y.) and Robbins. Index of American Design at Macy's Department Store, NYC, 1938 July 30. Holger Cahill papers, 1910-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New York City. Federal Art Project Photographic Division. phot- Von Urban. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipO7Op4g6EaPOooVGMbWfxyBCUqFAgUWj8AzJBgb1qP3Lg7ckTZn9wmGGOguMS9VlR3faJocEt4yu3kbgFQNSMPbiuWbBUefdXE6n356Mm8TLy3mlfO-gxtRnNcTUO7Lmf-ouXbPZAJRA/s400/IAD-20130730-0019_blue_dress_r.jpg)
Dress, 1935/1942
watercolor and graphite on paperboard overall: 30.6 x 23 cm (12 1/16 x 9 1/16 in.) Index of American Design
1943.8.9566
IAD-20130730-0019.jpg
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtT12OtJl_Pw2sDdNtFpQt9-ETJgqtozFb6Li4VxxS4YujU3M2KjFrXf6CikhPG8yHI1RaFegfjuaxPROaXm2L52jtmBVfMFWlFS3q2BM0ad75Fgw18hmKcLPpJjSwkIgv2goL3DplVYA/s400/IAD-20140731-0034_r.jpg)
American 20th Century
1943.8.7635
IAD-20140731-0034.jpg
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-UOAgoPT7wFJx9312T0lw6ZDPBSYV1anckiPiiK-1QH7cXh4vmKfmtEx359VbXtUWAQ8_RYEN-0qQ73QDTuQMK7rdsV4LvHs1ZJBTkyJTU7TQkF_W85-1l_pZngegxjV-uBkmSXeLS0/s400/IAD-20130821-0015.jpg)
American, active c. 1935
Bonnet, c. 1940
watercolor and graphite on paperboard overall: 42.5 x 43 cm (16 3/4 x 16 15/16 in.) Index of American Design
1943.8.1055
IAD-20130821-0015.jpg
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFOwCFK5dqTeywt9jn9wYb86rmtw7PD3sLcS4801e0efAOwxXwNNuYouVt5Hct5oslz7D88LHe1VlT_MKBaSDg3z0NrlaJUWGEvEG2G44M-ZXEWLuNNwvvanrf0lZvisU8v374SzSvKE/s400/IAD-20130731-0057.jpg)
Churn, c. 1940
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
overall: 29 x 22.7 cm (11 7/16 x 8 15/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 10 3/4" high; 5" in diameter Index of American Design
1943.8.17317
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cueCyTMjX-2g9Osc4Vhs2gqsQYNlklfrF7gCE9y9hOmvs5fkNVTg1hyphenhyphen7sKoOZw4NXkP3z686qXAwtbs8ShULX4MUdpT-seayP-Fk9UFSQY_TeqFE8SF3ArprT2qiIEtcig9cLzDRx-I/s320/IAD-20130723-0064.jpg)
Fanchon Larzelere
American, active c. 1935
Bonnet, c. 1937
watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paper overall: 29.8 x 22.7 cm (11 3/4 x 8 15/16 in.) Index of American Design
1943.8.3113
Words on Pictures: Romana and the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. edited by Anthony T. Troncale. New York: Photo | Verso Publications, LLC, 2020. ISBN 978-1-7346409-0-8 (hardcover) Identifiers ISBN 978-1-7346409-1-5 (ebook)
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