Marie Alain

Marie Alain was active primarily during the latter half of the 1930s, documenting American decorative arts between 1936 and 1939. She is known specifically for her significant contribution to the Index of American Design (IAD), a massive governmental project undertaken during the Depression era to create a comprehensive visual record of American material culture and design history.

Alain’s output consists of precise, documentary renderings of historical and domestic objects. These works capture both functional and folk objects with meticulous detail, fulfilling the IAD’s mission. Examples of objects she documented include the textile-based Quaker Cape and Nightcap, alongside practical items such as Walking Slippers, the Potato Masher, and a specific type of Bowl. Fifteen of her works relating to the Index of American Design are represented in major museum collections.

The primary repository for documentation and prints related to the Index of American Design, including works by Marie Alain, is the National Gallery of Art. Because of their creation under the Federal Art Project, these detailed illustrations are widely considered to be in the public domain, making Marie Alain prints available to researchers. These illustrations are valued not only for their artistic merit but also as documentation offering access to high-quality prints for the study of early American design.