Majel G. Claflin

Majel G. Claflin was an American artist and documentarian known primarily for her contributions to the Index of American Design (IAD). Claflin was active around 1935 during the peak of federal art programs in the United States. The Index of American Design, a component of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), aimed to create a comprehensive pictorial survey of historical American decorative and folk arts, capturing objects from the colonial period through the 19th century.

Claflin contributed 15 documented index of American designs to the project. These works demonstrate a precise, archival style necessary for accurate visual record-keeping, covering textiles, metalwork, and religious artifacts. Specific documented studies represented in museum collections include two renderings of Bedspreads, documentations of a Candlestick and a Candlestick Sconce, and the study of the New Mexican folk art piece Carved and Painted Santo - Santa Rita.

These studies are highly valued as primary historical documentation, forming a critical archive of American material culture. Claflin’s works are preserved in the collections of the National Gallery of Art. Today, reproductions of these detailed renderings, categorized as Majel G. Claflin prints, are often made available through public domain initiatives, providing access to these high-quality historical studies.