Lucille Chabot

Lucille Chabot was an American artist active during a concentrated period in the mid-1930s, documented primarily between 1935 and 1937. Her artistic output is intrinsically linked to the Index of American Design (IAD), a major Works Progress Administration (WPA) project established to document and preserve the visual record of American decorative and folk arts.

Chabot contributed 15 documented renderings to the Index, focusing on meticulous illustrations of historical domestic artifacts. Her portfolio reflects the IAD’s mission to catalog diverse media, ranging from metalwork and folk sculpture to textiles. Notable works represented in collections include detailed studies of weather vanes, such as the Gabriel Weather Vane (Technique) and the Rooster Weather Vane, alongside objects of domestic craftsmanship like the Rocking Horse. Chabot also documented textile arts, with specific focus on Shaker designs, demonstrated by her renderings of a Shaker Bedspread and Shaker Rug Strips.

Fifteen examples of Lucille Chabot’s prints and studies are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art. Due to the historical and reference nature of the Index of American Design, the works are often available in the public domain. Today, researchers frequently utilize downloadable artwork of her contributions, ensuring that high-quality prints of Lucille Chabot's important documentary work remain accessible.