Arthur Wegg

Arthur Wegg was an American artist whose active documented career spanned a short, intensive period between 1935 and 1937. His artistic output is defined entirely by his participation in the Index of American Design (IAD), a seminal federal art project established under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The IAD’s primary function was to create meticulous visual documentation of American decorative and folk arts, capturing detailed renderings of objects ranging from colonial furniture to nineteenth-century textiles, ensuring that historical, museum-quality artifacts were preserved through documentation.

Wegg’s contributions focused primarily on studies of domestic metalwork and functional objects. He is represented by nine documented entries in the index. Works held in museum collections emphasize his close attention to material and form, including specific renderings of a Silver Teapot, a Candlestick, a Sugar Bowl, and two distinct studies of a Foot Warmer. Five of these works are housed in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Because of their creation as government documentation, many Arthur Wegg prints and drawings produced for the Index of American Design are now available in the public domain.