Chest (with two drawers) 1936

Michael Trekur made this watercolor drawing of a chest with two drawers, sometime between 1855 and 1995. The drawing is part of the Index of American Design, a WPA project. The Index was intended to record and preserve examples of American material culture, particularly folk art and decorative arts. The drawing meticulously records the details of the chest, from the turned spindles to the geometric patterns on the drawer fronts. These images can tell us something about how American identity was constructed during the Great Depression. Projects like the Index were implemented to celebrate the craftsmanship and ingenuity of ordinary Americans. Archival documents from the WPA, like artist’s notes and project reports, can help us understand the social and political motivations behind this kind of image making. They also let us explore the values and beliefs of the people who created and consumed these images. This helps us to understand better the role of art as a reflection of its social and institutional context.