Fence
c. 1941
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.17003
Art Historical Context
**Fence** by Rose Campbell-Gerke created around 1941, captures the humble yet iconic beauty of American vernacular architecture through delicate watercolor and graphite on paperboard. Measuring 14 x 11 inches, this intimate work renders a fence with precise lines and subtle color washes, highlighting textures and patterns that speak to everyday craftsmanship in the United States. As part of the *Index of American Design*a groundbreaking Federal Art Project under the Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression—this piece belongs to a vast archive of over 18,000 renderings produce...
About the Artist
Rose Campbell-Gerke
Rose Campbell-Gerke (born 1882) was a California-born American artist who worked as a watercolorist for the Index of American Design, the New Deal-era federal project that systematically documented American folk and decorative arts. The National Gallery of Art holds sixty-six works by Campbell-Gerke in its collection, making her one of the more prolific individual contributors to the Index. Her bo...