Rose Campbell-Gerke

Rose Campbell-Gerke was an artist documented as active in 1935, contributing significant archival drawings to the Index of American Design. This federal art project, initiated during the 1930s, sought to create a detailed pictorial survey of American decorative and folk arts, emphasizing precise documentation over interpretive styling.

Campbell-Gerke’s output centers on functional objects, reflecting the project’s goal of preserving the visual history of American industrial and domestic artifacts. Fifteen of the artist's designs are currently held in museum collections, establishing the quality and importance of her documentation efforts.

These detailed renderings are notably housed at the National Gallery of Art (NGA), where they serve as essential reference material. Specific works held by the NGA include precise studies such as Bar Bit, Branding Iron, Lantern, Miner's Oil Lamp, and Nozzle. These high-quality prints and drawings exemplify museum-quality documentation of everyday material culture from earlier eras. Given the archival context of their creation, many Rose Campbell-Gerke prints are considered public domain, ensuring their ongoing availability for research and educational purposes.