Study for American Interior, 1934

Charles Sheeler, Study for American Interior, 1934, ca. 1934, watercolor, opaque watercolor and pencil on paper, sheet: 3 ⁷⁄₈ x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (9.8 x 8.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1982.90

Artwork Details

Title: Study for American Interior, 1934
Artist: Charles Sheeler
Date: ca. 1934
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 3 ⁷⁄₈ x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (9.8 x 8.8 cm)
Credit Line: Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Mediums: pencil
watercolor
gouache
Mediums Description: watercolor, opaque watercolor and pencil on paper
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Object — furniture — chair
Object — other — vase
Architecture Interior — domestic
Object — other — dish
Object — furniture — table
Object — other — rug
Object Number: 1982.90
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1982.90

Artwork Description

In Study for American Interior, 1934, Sheeler worked out spatial and color relationships for a painting of the same title. The composition showcases objects from the artist’s home in South Salem, New York. The rag rugs and turned-post Shaker bed reveal Sheeler’s appreciation of early American furniture and crafts. The shadows cast by the streaming sunlight carve the space into an abstract composition of angular forms that echo the patterns in the textiles. The red, white, and blue palette of this small watercolor reinforces the American theme.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009