Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Figurehead from the Johanna Swan
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Public Domain

Figurehead from the Johanna Swan

Artifact IDMO 1942.35.3
Object Type Painting
Artist (American, 1895 - 1981)
Datemid 1930s
Mediumwatercolor on paper
Dimensionsimage H 14 3/4 in x W 8 3/4 in (37.5 cm x 22.2 cm )
 frame H 25 1/8 in x W 19 in x D 5/8 in (63.8 cm x 48.3 cm x 1.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn original watercolor painting of a ship's carved pine figurehead of a female figure (head and upper torso), holding her right hand over her left breast.

It is matted, glazed (Plexiglas), and framed in a 3/4" whitewashed wood frame with a metal plaque at the bottom which reads: WPA FEDERAL ART PROJECT.
Historical NoteThis watercolor (Me. 1270 - Ca-11) was created for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Index of American Design by the Connecticut Art Project, Federal Art Project, Works Progress Administration. It depicts a figurehead likely from the JOHANNA SWAN, a ship built in Harrington, Maine. The figurehead was found on a Maine farm and was once in the collection of author Booth Tarkington.

The original figurehead is in the collection of the Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut.








Additional Details
Custodial History NoteReceived by Franklin D. Roosevelt from the W.P.A. Index of American Design on September 19, 1941. Deposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 25, 1941.
Credit LineAllocated by the U.S. Government, Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project, 1935 - 1943. Held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesArtifacts Relating to the New Deal (National Archives Identifier 750981)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view