Hobby Toy
c. 1936
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 22.9 x 29.5 cm (9 x 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15628
Art Historical Context
**Hobby Toy** by Raoul Du Bois, created 1936, is a captivating watercolor and graphite rendering on paper, measuring 22.9 x 29.5 cm. As part of the Index of American Design—a groundbreaking Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression—this work exemplifies a national effort from 1935 to 1942 to document and celebrate everyday American folk art and decorative objects. Du Bois, a skilled illustrator, contributed numerous precise depictions that preserved the nation's material culture for future generations, now housed in the National Gallery of Ar...