# Chest

**Irving I. Smith** (American)  
c. 1936  
watercolor, colored pencil, gouache, and graphite on paperboard  
overall: 27.9 x 22.7 cm (11 x 8 15/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 1.13 (this is all data sheet records.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.8.4614. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.16816.html).

## About this work

Irving I. Smith painted this in about 1936. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a large wooden chest with intricate floral patterns on the front panels. The color palette consists of various shades of brown, emphasizing the natural wood tones. The chest is centrally positioned on a plain background with subtle shadows indicating it is slightly elevated.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [Irving I. Smith](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/irving-i-smith)

American

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Real size: about 11 × 9 in (28 × 23 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [American folk and design](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/american-folk-design)
- Subjects: plant, Leaf, Tulip, Scroll, Palmette
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1393.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1393/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/chest-nga-16816).