Coin Purse

Art Historical Context

This watercolor and graphite rendering of a coin purse, created around 1938 by Gladys Cook, forms part of the Index of American Design at the National Gallery of Art. The Index was a New Deal-era Federal Art Project that employed artists during the Great Depression to create a comprehensive visual record of American decorative arts, folk crafts, and everyday objects from the colonial period through the 19th century. Cook’s precise work on paperboard captures the form, texture, and details of this modest yet functional item, typical of the Index’s documentary style. Watercolor provided luminou...

About the Artist

Gladys Cook

Gladys Cook was an American illustrator and commercial artist whose work appeared widely in popular magazines and books during the mid-twentieth century. She is particularly remembered for her contributions to the world of children's illustration and her facility with a range of print media, producing images that were at once technically polished and warmly accessible to broad audiences. Cook's s...