Harry Jennings

Harry Jennings was active during a focused period between 1935 and 1938, documented primarily through contributions to the Index of American Designs (IAD). This ambitious federal art initiative, established under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), tasked artists and draftsmen with systematically recording the visual history of American decorative and folk arts, focusing on utilitarian objects and craftsmanship from the colonial era through the 19th century.

Jennings is credited with documentation for fifteen designs preserved within the Index of American Designs collection. These works are not original fine art compositions, but meticulous records executed in various media (such as watercolor, pen, and ink), which function as high-quality prints documenting historical objects. The artifacts Jennings documented reflect the wide variety of material culture studied by the project. Specific documented pieces include two designs for a Coverlet, a detailed record of a Mourning Embroidery, documentation of a Fireman's Hat, and a study of a Hitchcock Chair.

The documentation completed by Harry Jennings is permanently held in major institutional archives, establishing their role in preserving American material history. These records form part of the Index of American Designs collection at the National Gallery of Art. These historical documents are often now available as downloadable artwork, providing valuable public domain resources for design scholars, historians, and researchers.