Toast Rack

Art Historical Context

**Toast Rack**, a meticulous graphite drawing by Mildred Ford around 1936, captures elegant form of an everyday American household object: a toast rack designed to hold slices of bread upright for cooling. Rendered on a 23 x 30 cm sheet of paper, the artwork faithfully reproduces the original's dimensions—16½ inches long, 13 inches wide, and ½ inches high—showcasing its sturdy, practical structure likely rooted in early 20th-century domestic design. As part of the National Gallery of Art's collection, this piece belongs to the Index of American Design (IAD), a treasure trove of visual records celebrating the nation's artistic heritage. Created under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the IAD employed artists like Ford to document folk, popular, and decorative arts through precise, watercolor and graphite renderings. This initiative preserved vanishing examples of American craftsmanship amid economic hardship, emphasizing cultural identity and ingenuity. Ford's graphite technique—known for its fine lines and subtle shading—highlights the toast rack's contours, materials, and subtle ornamentation, transforming a utilitarian item into a study of form and function. Today, **Toast Rack** invites us to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary, reminding visitors of how WPA artists elevated humble objects into symbols of American resilience and design innovation. A delightful glimpse into mid-1930s life! (218 words)

About the Artist

Mildred Ford · 1895–1988

Mildred Ford (1895–1988) was an American artist whose career is indelibly linked to the Index of American Design, a monumental Works Progress Administration (WPA) project launched in the 1930s to document the nation's rich heritage of decorative arts and folk objects. Through her precise renderings, Ford helped preserve intricate details of everyday artifacts—from toleware utensils to Pennsylvania...