Horace Reina

Horace Reina was an artist active between 1935 and 1936, whose work is exclusively associated with the Federal Art Project’s Index of American Design (IAD). This extensive governmental initiative documented historical American decorative and folk arts dating from the colonial era through the late 19th century. Reina's contribution to the project involved creating detailed, two-dimensional renderings of existing historical objects, focusing specifically on examples of silversmithing.

Fifteen works attributed to Reina are held in museum collections from the Index of American Design archives. These precise illustrations prioritized accuracy, providing essential visual information for researchers studying early American material culture. Documented objects include the Silver Baptismal Basin, Silver Basin, Silver Bowl, Silver Snuff Box, and the Silver Tankard.

The totality of Reina’s documented output is preserved within the Index of American Design collection, which is housed at the National Gallery of Art. As works created under a federally funded program, these historical documents are often considered public domain. Today, high-quality prints and downloadable artwork of these Horace Reina prints serve as valuable resources for the academic community and the general public studying 20th-century documentation efforts and American decorative arts.