Margery Parish

Margery Parish was active in the American art documentation sphere between 1935 and 1937. Her documented output is primarily associated with the Index of American Design, a major initiative focusing on the meticulous visual recording of historic American decorative and folk arts. Parish contributed 15 documented designs to this project, represented today in major collections.

Parish’s contributions reflect the breadth of the Index’s mandate, spanning studies of religious artifacts, textiles, and domestic items. The works recorded by Parish include studies of a Retablo, a Wall Decoration, a Bedspread, and historic Child's Shoes, alongside detailed documentation of a Colcha (a form of Spanish colonial embroidered textile).

These archival records are held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, establishing the historical and research significance of her work. Because these documents preserve early American designs and craftsmanship, the detailed high-quality prints resulting from her documentation efforts often enter the public domain. Margery Parish prints of these historical surveys remain valuable resources for the study of 20th-century preservation initiatives and American material culture.