# Mechanical Artillery Bank

**Alf Bruseth** (American)  
c. 1940  
watercolor, graphite, pen and ink, and gouache on paper  
overall: 22.1 x 30.3 cm (8 11/16 x 11 15/16 in.) Original IAD Object: foundation: 8 3/16" long; 3 13/16" wide; tower: 5 3/4" high; 2 11/16" wide; soldier: 4 5/8" high; mortar: 3 1/16" high; 2 1/16" long

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.8.8533. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.20730.html).

## About this work

Alf Bruseth painted this in about 1940. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image displays a vintage mechanical bank with a brick-patterned tower on the left and a soldier figure on the right, prepared to operate a cannon. The color scheme is mainly earthy tones including brown, bronze, and hints of gold, creating a retro metallic appearance. The label "ARTILLERY BANK" is engraved on the base in front of the cannon.

_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.

### [Alf Bruseth](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/alf-bruseth)

American

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Real size: about 8½ × 12 in (22 × 30 cm). Closest to life size: the 8 × 10 in print.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [American folk and design](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/american-folk-design)
- 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/1414.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1414/1920.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
- 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
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- 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

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/mechanical-artillery-bank-nga-20730).