Works Progress Administration: Part of the New Deal Legislation Federal Art Project Federal Writers’ Project Federal Theatre Project Federal Music Project New Deal for the arts put Americans to work, celebrated American workers, the nation’s history, its talents, and its diversity. Arts projects did not necessarily ennoble ordinary lives, but these lives became the subjects for plays, interviews, murals, and photographs, producing a documentary record of how the Great Depression affected them. New Deal arts a populist nationalist style and content, including an emphasis on the rural and the representational Critics charged that these programs were wasteful, amateurish, or that they flagrantly promoted the New Deal agenda and radical politics. Independent artists such as John Steinbeck and John Ford, who found creative inspiration in these socially conscious times, came under fire from forces who saw their work as leftist dogma disguised as art.

WPA mural, Cohen Building (Originally the Social Security Building), Washington, DC Charles Klauder (Architect)

WPA fresco "California Life“ Coit Tower, San Francisco, California The artists were committed in varying degrees to racial equality and to leftist and Marxist political ideas strongly expressed in the paintings

George Albert Harris "Banking and Law" Depicts professions of banking and law Memorable for its commentary on the economic conditions of the time Some of the book titles that appear in the law library, such as 'Civil, Penal, and Moral Codes', are legitimate, while others list fellow muralists as authors, in a joking or derogatory manner

Leo Breslau – Ploughing – 1934 Response to the Public Works of Art Project's suggestion that artists depict "the American Scene." Unlikely that the artist left his native Brooklyn to find this scene demonstrating American ideals. Artist's imagination rather than any specific place. What could be farther from the despairing of breadlines in Depression-era New York City or the Dust Bowl than this green, rustic realm where honest work is richly rewarded? The farmer, raising a new crop, offers hope for the nation.

Paul Kelpe Machinery, Abstract #2 US Dept. Of Labor He was actually an abstract painter In his paintings for the Public Works of Art Project, he knew that he needed to somehow address "the American Scene." “ As they refused to accept 'nonrepresentational' art…I made a number of pictures with geometric machinery."

Workers on the Cathedral of Learning, 1934 Harry W. Scheuch Pittsburgh, PA Artist Harry Scheuch painted the Cathedral of Learning twice for the PWAP. The first image is a close-up view of the masons at work while the second painting is a more distant view that reveals the horde of workers involved. Cathedral of Learning demonstrated that the Great Depression could not stop Americans from accomplishing great things.

Juan Duran Kenneth M. Adams The artist emphasized Duran's strong hands by placing them prominently on his knees, reinforcing the value of manual labor. Like many artists of the 1930s, Adams worked for the Works Progress Administration. He and his peers created images that gave dignity to laborers a

WPA mural, Cohen Building,Washington, D.C.