Top (With Winding String)

Art Historical Context

"Top (With Winding String)" by Mina Lowry, created between 1935 and 1942, captures the simple yet timeless charm of a classic American spinning top—a wooden toy activated by winding string around its body and releasing it to whirl with centrifugal force. Rendered at 28.8 x 23 cm on paper, this delicate work showcases Lowry's meticulous eye for everyday objects that embodied American ingenuity and playfulness during the Great Depression era. As part of the Index of Design (IAD), a Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the artwork served a vital cultural mission. Launched in 1935, the IAD employed artists like Lowry to document and celebrate America's folk art, crafts, and design heritage through precise, colorful renderings. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, it preserves the ephemeral beauty of vernacular toys that might otherwise be lost to time. Lowry masterfully combined watercolor, pen and ink, gouache, and graphite to achieve vibrant hues, fine lines, and subtle shading, evoking the top's glossy finish and dynamic potential. This mixed-media technique not only highlighted the object's form and function but also elevated humble playthings to symbols of national identity, inviting visitors to appreciate the artistry in the ordinary.

About the Artist

Mina Lowry · 1894–1942

Mina Lowry (1894–1942), an American artist born in Canada, emerged as a prominent portrait painter whose career bridged traditional portraiture and the documentation of American folk art. Immigrating to Buffalo, New York, with her family around 1901, she honed her skills early on, winning first prize for modeling at the Albright Art School and studying under the esteemed Florence J. Bach. Lowry fu...