Childs Porridge Spoon c. 1939

Milton Bevier created this watercolor and graphite rendering of a child's wooden porridge spoon. Its simple form speaks to broader cultural ideas about family, domesticity, and craft. Made in the United States, the spoon might seem like a humble object, but it offers insight into the material culture of nineteenth-century American life. The spoon itself, lovingly carved from wood, suggests a society that valued handmade goods, perhaps before industrialization fully took hold. The act of feeding a child porridge evokes notions of care, nourishment, and the family unit. In contrast, the spoon’s presence in the Index of American Design speaks to the institutionalization of folk art. The IAD was a program of the WPA, a New Deal agency that sought to document and preserve American folk art traditions during the Great Depression, and in doing so defined what was to be seen as ‘American’. Art historians interested in the image can consult the resources of the Index of American Design. Examining this work within its historical context allows us to consider the social and cultural values embedded within everyday objects.