Boy's Poplin Suit
1935/1942
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 34.3 x 27.8 cm (13 1/2 x 10 15/16 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.1718
Art Historical Context
This watercolor and graphite work on paperboard, titled Boy's Poplin Suit, was created by Daniel Marshack between 1935 and 1942 as part of the Index of American Design. Now in the National Gallery of Art, it reflects a Depression-era federal initiative that commissioned artists to produce a visual archive of American material culture, from crafts to everyday objects. The Index focused on precise documentation of historical items, including clothing and textiles. Marshack combined watercolor's fluid washes to suggest the poplin fabric's color and texture with graphite's sharp lines for constru...