Stern Decoration

Art Historical Context

**Stern Decoration** by Jerome Hoxie (c. 1937) captures the ornate flair of American maritime folk art through delicate watercolor and graphite on paper (28.1 x 35.5 cm). Created as part of the Index of American Design—a WPA Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1942—this rendering documents a 72-inch-long original stern decoration, likely a carved wooden emblem adorning the rear of a historic vessel. Hoxie's precise technique highlights the object's intricate details, preserving endangered examples of 19th-century craftsmanship amid the Great Depression. The Index aimed to celebrate everyday Amer...