Beverly Chichester

Beverly Chichester was active primarily between 1935 and 1936, participating in the Index of American Designs (IAD), a significant initiative within the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This project focused on creating meticulous, detailed renderings documenting American decorative arts and folk traditions from the colonial era through the nineteenth century.

Chichester’s output within the IAD consisted of technical documentation drawings, executed primarily in watercolor and graphite, capturing the precision and detail of historical artifacts. The fifteen works attributed to the artist and represented in museum collections reflect a broad study of domestic and recreational objects. Specific examples include the documentation of the Applique Linen Panel, the study of common glassware like the Glass Bottle and the Glass Bowl, and renderings of toys such as the Go-Cart and Doll and the Jointed Dutch Doll.

The entire body of Chichester’s documented Index of American Designs renderings is preserved within the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. As records produced under the Federal Art Project, these historical documentation drawings are often classified within the public domain, allowing for widespread access. Today, the detailed illustrations are sought after as high-quality prints, maintaining their original museum-quality importance as historical records of early American material culture.