Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Spice up your Halloween crafts with a new spooky addition.

George File created “Skeleton Marionette” to document a wooden marionette created by a puppeteer and circus performer in Flint, Michigan.

File did this as part of the Index of American Design, which aimed to document American folk and decorative arts during the 1930s and 1940s.

Today, the Index of American Design is housed in our collection. Check it out: nga.gov/features/exhibitions/outliers-and-american-vanguard-artist-biographies/index-of-american-design.html

Watch and learn how to make a marionette inspired by George File’s 1936 watercolor “Skeleton Marionette.”

Required Materials:
- Newspaper
- Cardboard for skeleton body
- Flour
- Water
- String
- Big needle
- Masking tape
- Hot glue
- Black, white, and grey paint
- Three metal screws and metal loop
- Eight long pieces of cardboard for arms and legs
- Exacto knife

View George File’s “Skeleton Marionette” in our online collection: nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.27743.html

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