Virginia Richards

Virginia Richards was an artist active during a concentrated period between 1935 and 1937, whose documented output is associated exclusively with the Index of American Design (IAD). The IAD was a New Deal-era federal art project dedicated to creating a comprehensive pictorial archive of American decorative and folk art from the colonial period through the nineteenth century.

Richards’s fifteen known studies reflect the meticulous documentation required by the project, focusing primarily on architecture and domestic objects. Her work includes detailed renderings of specific structures and architectural plans, such as the Ground Plan for Cottage and studies of an Italian Style Villa. Several drawings focus on key historic locations, including the Eliza B. Jumel Estate. Other pieces document material culture, exemplified by her study of a Clock, Tall.

Today, fifteen of Virginia Richards’s Index of American Design illustrations are preserved in major American collections, establishing the authority and historical value of Virginia Richards prints. These detailed, museum-quality drawings are primarily held by the National Gallery of Art. As government-produced documents often enter the public domain, many of these resources are available to researchers as downloadable artwork for historical and cultural study.