Ice Skates
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 38.5 x 48.6 cm (15 3/16 x 19 1/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 10 1/2" long; 2 1/2" wide
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.1870
Art Historical Context
**Ice Skates** by Harley Kempter, created around 1940, captures the elegant simplicity of a classic pair of American ice skates in watercolor and graphite on paperboard (38.5 x 48.6 cm). This detailed rendering showcases the skates' slender blades, sturdy leather straps, and wooden frames—practical tools for winter recreation that evoke the joy of gliding across frozen ponds. As part of the *Index of American Design*, a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, Kempter's work documents everyday American folk objects during the Great Depression. The I...