Charles Von Urban

Charles Von Urban was an American artist documented as professionally active between 1935 and 1937. His known artistic output is concentrated within the governmental initiatives of the Index of American Design (IAD), a federal arts project dedicated to documenting historic American decorative and folk arts.

Von Urban specialized in producing highly detailed, descriptive renderings of functional domestic and industrial objects, primarily focusing on Pennsylvania German material culture. Fifteen of his original drawings associated with the Index of American Designs are currently represented in museum collections. Specific documented works include detailed studies of domestic utility items such as the Pa. German Butter Stamp and the Pa. German Springele Mold, alongside renderings of cast iron items like Stove Plate and Pa. German Fire Back.

These historical records, created as Charles Von Urban prints, are foundational contributions to the IAD archive, which serves as an important resource for the study of American craft history. All of his documented works are held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. Due to their institutional origins, many of these highly accurate documentation drawings are today considered part of the public domain, allowing for the reproduction of high-quality prints for scholarly purposes.