🖌️ The WPA Federal Art Project: How Public Art Transformed America During the Great Depression

📌 The WPA Federal Art Project (1938) provided thousands of artists with jobs while bringing murals, sculptures, and paintings to public spaces. Discover how this initiative shaped American art, preserved folk traditions, and launched the careers of major artists.

Collage of Work Being Done by WPA Artists Included Sculpture (Rhode Island), Oil Painting (Tennessee), Mural (New York), Sculpture (Oregon), Wood Carving (Illinois), Mural (New York). Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1527a0648c

🎨 American Art by WPA Artists - 1938

The WPA Federal Art Project: Preserving Creativity & Expanding Public Access to Art

📖 The WPA Federal Art Project (FAP) played a vital role in sustaining American artists during the Great Depression while enriching public spaces with murals, sculptures, and prints that celebrated American life. This report documents how thousands of unemployed artists received government support to create works of art that remain an enduring part of the country’s cultural heritage. For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, this document is a treasure trove of information on the impact of public arts funding, the development of regional American art, and the careers of artists who later gained national and international recognition.

For educators, historians, and art enthusiasts, this document provides:

✔️ A comprehensive record of WPA-supported murals, paintings, sculptures, and prints.

✔️ A list of notable artists and their contributions to American art.

✔️ Evidence of how public art projects expanded artistic opportunities beyond major cities.

✔️ Insights into how WPA programs fostered American artistic identity during economic hardship.

📌 This report underscores the importance of government support for the arts, demonstrating how public investment can sustain creativity while making art more accessible to the public.

WPA artists are interpreting America to Americans through almost every form of the visual arts—from vast mosaics and murals through sculpture and easel paintings to preservation of native decorative art by the Index of American Design.

Topical Title Page for WPA Art Projects Representing 0.3 Percent of Total Program. Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1528176a29

Professional artists of all types were hit as hard by the depression as any single group. The WPA Federal Art Project, set up to employ jobless mural and easel painters, sculptors, art teachers, and allied workers, has operated in 39 States, New York City, and the District of Columbia.

At its peak it employed 5,212 artists of all types, while the current employment is 3,689. On the walls of 11,325 schools, post offices, hospitals, and other public buildings all over the country hang the works of project artists— more than 95,000 murals, mosaics, sculptures, oils, water colors, and prints.

Other art workers have created 500 dioramas and models and 7,139 lantern slides for visual education, 39,692 arts and crafts objects, 251,000 photographs, 240 stage sets, and 349,900 posters for public safety, health, and other campaigns.

A striking instance of the frequent discovery of brilliant talent is illustrated by a Chicago artist who was employed on a work project, painting signs on park buildings. In his spare time he had completed drawings and sketches for murals which he hoped someday would be placed in public buildings.

Within 6 months after he was placed on the Federal Art Project, his work was so outstanding that it was reproduced on the cover of a prominent English art journal.

Among the numerous artists who have won prizes in the mural field is James Michael Newell, who received the Gold Medal of the Architectural League, which had not been awarded for 5 years because of lack of works deemed worthy of this honor.

Other honors won by WPA artists:

• Robert W. Godfey's Portrait of My Wife was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of New York for its permanent collection;
• Lester Schwartz of Illinois was awarded the Edward L. Ryerson Traveling Fellowship of $2,500 by the Art Institute of Chicago;
• Ralph Hume, Florida sculptor, won first prize in the Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery for his Whippet;
• Eugenia Everett of California won the grand prize for sculpture at the Fine Arts Exhibit of the Third Annual Southern California Festival of Allied Arts; and
• Sidney Laufman captured top honors in the 1937 Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design with his The Farm, which won the $700 prize for a landscape by an American-born citizen.

The constant drift of talent away from home communities toward the great cities has been counteracted for the first time in American art history. Painters and watercolorists, working in almost every State of the Union, have produced thousands of works that truly reflect the vastness and variety of America rather than repetitions of themes from New York and Paris.

Instances of this new impulse:

• John McCrady, whose vivid scenes of Louisiana life were reproduced in full color in Life;
• Sam Brown, young Negro artist from Philadelphia, whose Portrait of Mrs. Simmons is included in a group of WPA work shown at a leading French museum;
• Jack Levine, a twenty-three year old Bostonian, whose mature and brilliant work has attracted leading critics;
• Louis Guglielmi, whose interpretations of out-of-the-way streets in Manhattan have won national acclaim; and
• Joseph Vavak, who paints floods and dust storms of his native Middle West.

Of note in the Far West are Eugene Trentham, for his Colorado landscapes; and Dong Kingman, San Francisco artist of Chinese parentage, who paints the subtle beauty of the mountains and sea around him with a rare sensitiveness.

In print making, the Project studios and opportunities for fresh technical experiment have produced work that has been generally acclaimed. Probably the highest of the many honors that have come to this group is the inclusion of ten WPA print makers in the British Fine Prints of the Tear for 1937, a representation of nearly one-fourth of all the Americans included.

In sculpture, some 1,700 works for public buildings have been created to harmonize with architectural plans and to give the general public a wider popular interest in this art.

The works produced range from a delightful Alice in Wonderland series for the public schools of Ohio to the huge diorite figure of an Aztec Indian by Donal Hord, installed this spring at the San Diego State College; from animal figures for Brookfield Zoo in Chicago to the remarkable carvings in native Pino wood in which Patrocino Barela of New Mexico, a former teamster, creates symbolic figures that are gothic in their intensity of form and feeling.

In addition to this creative art program, other millions of people have been reached through Federal Art Project exhibitions and teaching activities in all sections of the United States.

Fifty community art centers and galleries have been established, many of them in the South, Middle West, and Far West. The purpose of the Index of American Design, which is now recording material in 30 States, is to make a pictorial record of our native decorative, provincial, and folk arts from the early Seventeenth Century to the close of the Nineteenth.

The artists employed in this work have already completed 7,500 facsimile renderings, both in color and black and white, which form the groundwork for a portfolio of our very rich heritage in the decorative arts.

Exhibitions of index work have been shown in most of the Nation's leading museums. Typical of many critical comments on the program are the statement of Alfred Barr, of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, that it "has made possible a great advance in the art of our country;" the opinion of Dr. Irwin Edman of Columbia that "it is really making art the popular theme of public discussion and reflection;" and the declaration by Lawrence Vail Coleman, director of the American Association of Museums, that "it is one of the most important things that has happened to American art in a hundred years."

Collage of Additional Work that is Being Done by WPA Artists Included Exhibition (Oklahoma), Sculpture (New York), Murals for Children's Hospital (Maine), Murals (Massachusetts), Art Class (New York), Boys' Art Club (New York), "Vanquished Race" (California), Murals (Virginia), Murals (Ohio). Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1527ae3ba7

"American Art," in Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938, pp. 79-82.

Why This Document is Important

📜 Relevance for Different Audiences

✔ For Art Educators & Students

🔹 Shows how WPA projects gave struggling artists the opportunity to develop and refine their craft.

🔹 Provides historical context for how public art programs can shape national identity.

🔹 Illustrates the importance of preserving folk art, printmaking, and mural painting.

✔ For Historians & Genealogists

🔹 Documents the employment of thousands of artists, offering valuable records for genealogy research.

🔹 Reveals how regional artists preserved unique aspects of local culture through public commissions.

🔹 Explains how the federal government influenced artistic trends in the 1930s.

✔ For Artists, Curators, & Museum Professionals

🔹 Highlights how WPA projects established community art centers and made fine art more accessible.

🔹 Provides a catalog of influential WPA-era artists, some of whom became major figures in American art.

🔹 Explores how WPA artists used different mediums, from murals to sculpture and printmaking.

📌 This document validates the role of public art as both an economic support system for artists and a vital cultural service for the nation.

🖌️ A Nationwide Artistic Revival

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 WPA artists created over 95,000 murals, mosaics, sculptures, paintings, and prints for schools, post offices, and hospitals.

🔹 Public spaces were transformed into galleries, exposing millions to high-quality artwork.

🔹 More than 50 community art centers were established to train artists and educate the public.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA helped decentralize the art world, bringing artistic production beyond major urban centers and making art a part of everyday life.

📌 This section is essential for public arts advocates, museum curators, and cultural policymakers.

🎨 Notable Artists & Their Achievements

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 Many WPA artists went on to achieve national and international recognition.

🔹 Artists created works that reflected local culture rather than imitating European styles.

🔹 Several WPA artists won major prizes and saw their work included in leading museums.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA helped shape the careers of artists who would later influence American modern art, muralism, and printmaking.

📌 This section is crucial for art historians, biographers, and researchers of American art movements.

📜 Notable WPA Artists & Their Accomplishments

✔ James Michael Newell – Won the Gold Medal of the Architectural League, a prize that had not been awarded for five years due to a lack of worthy recipients.

✔ Robert W. Godfrey – His Portrait of My Wife was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

✔ Lester Schwartz – Received the Edward L. Ryerson Traveling Fellowship from the Art Institute of Chicago.

✔ Ralph Hume – Won first prize at the Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery for his sculpture Whippet.

✔ Sidney Laufman – Won top honors at the National Academy of Design’s Annual Exhibition for his landscape The Farm.

✔ John McCrady – Gained national recognition for his paintings depicting Louisiana life, featured in Life Magazine.

✔ Sam Brown – A Philadelphia-based African American artist whose Portrait of Mrs. Simmons was displayed in a leading French museum.

✔ Jack Levine – A Boston artist whose work caught the attention of leading art critics.

✔ Louis Guglielmi – Became famous for his interpretations of New York’s lesser-known streets.

✔ Joseph Vavak – Captured Midwestern floods and dust storms in his paintings.

✔ Dong Kingman – A Chinese American artist from San Francisco known for his landscapes of mountains and the sea.

📌 This list is a valuable reference for researchers tracking the development of American modern art.

🏺 The Index of American Design

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 Artists created 7,500 detailed renderings of American folk art and decorative objects.

🔹 This was one of the first major efforts to systematically document early American artistic traditions.

🔹 The project’s exhibits were displayed in the nation’s leading museums.

✔ Key Takeaway:

**The WPA helped preserve America’s artistic heritage while training artists in traditional techniques.

📌 This section is important for art conservationists, museum professionals, and folk art historians.

🖼 Noteworthy Images & Their Significance

🖼 🎭 "Collage of Work Being Done by WPA Artists"

🔹 Depicts murals, sculptures, and wood carvings from different states.

🔹 Highlights the variety of artistic mediums employed in WPA projects.

🖼 🎨 "Collage of Additional Work that is Being Done by WPA Artists"

🔹 Features exhibitions, murals in hospitals, children’s art classes, and sculptures in public spaces.

🔹 Illustrates the educational and therapeutic impact of the WPA art programs.

📌 These images visually capture the scale and ambition of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Bias & Perspective Considerations

✔ Government-Centric View:

🔹 The report emphasizes the project’s successes but does not:

🔹 Address criticisms of government-funded art as “propaganda” during the 1930s.

🔹 Discuss artists whose work was censored for political reasons.

Acknowledge the challenges of sustaining these programs beyond the WPA era.

✔ Overlooking Diversity & Representation

🔹 While some African American and Asian American artists are mentioned, the overall diversity of WPA projects could be explored further.

🔹 Did the project fairly support women artists, Indigenous artists, or other marginalized groups?

📌 A more nuanced analysis would explore both the achievements and limitations of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Final Thoughts: Why This Report Matters

"American Art by WPA Artists - 1938" serves as a powerful testament to how public investment in the arts can preserve cultural heritage, train artists, and enrich communities. By funding murals, sculptures, and exhibitions, the WPA shaped the landscape of American art and ensured its survival through economic hardship.

📌 This document reminds us that public art is not a luxury—it’s a national asset, a source of inspiration, and a reflection of our collective identity. 🎨🖌️🏺