John Sullivan

John Sullivan was active as an artist and documentarian between 1935 and 1939, a period that corresponds with significant federal art initiatives in the United States. His documented output is strongly associated with the Index of American Design (IAD), an ambitious government project dedicated to documenting American material culture, folk art, and decorative objects.

Sullivan is credited with 15 documented designs generated for the Index of American Design. These works function as precise, archival renderings of historical artifacts, capturing details of craftsmanship and form. Five specific renderings are represented in collections, including a Figurehead, three studies of a Chair, and a documentation of a Cigar Store Indian.

The documentation Sullivan produced provides an important visual record of historical American artifacts. These works, which often fall into the public domain due to their origin, are preserved in the collections of the National Gallery of Art. The availability of high-quality prints derived from these archival plates makes John Sullivan prints crucial resources for students of American decorative arts and history.