Candlestick
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 29.2 x 22.8 cm (11 1/2 x 9 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.17652
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate rendering *Candlestick* by John Fisk, created around 1937 as part of the Index of American Design (IAD). This watercolor and graphite work on paperboard (29.2 x 22.8 cm) captures graceful form of a traditional American candlestick, a slice of everyday decorative arts from the nation's past. Housed in the National Gallery Art's CG-W department, it exemplifies the IAD's mission—a WPA Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1942—to document folk, craft, and design objects through meticulous artist illustrations during the Great Depression. Fisk's technique blends the fluidity of wat...
About the Artist
John Fisk
John Fisk is an artist about whom verified biographical information is limited in the major art historical literature. No confirmed dates of birth or death have been established, and details regarding nationality, training, and primary period of activity remain undocumented in readily available scholarly sources. Works attributed to John Fisk have entered museum collections, suggesting a level of...