Ilya Bolotowsky’s oil painting study for the Hall of Sciences mural at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York is today housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It is all that remains of Bolotowsky’s mural commissioned… read more
The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: “[Mr. Lenson] moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street … Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and… read more
This mural “The Harvest” was originally painted for the what was then the Abbeville post office by Louis Raynaud in 1939. Presently, it hangs in the Abbeville Museum downtown. “The Harvest shows men and women harvesting cotton, sugarcane, and muskrat… read more
Artist Seymour Fogel painted two murals, entitled “African Music and European Music” and “Religious and Modern Music”, in the Music Room (Room 327) of the Abraham Lincoln High School in 1936-37. The New York Schools website shows only a portion… read more
The abstract mural titled “Art,” by Lloyd Moylan, was funded by the WPA’s Federal Art Project. The medium is tempera on plaster. There were music classes held on the second floor of the ENMU Administration Building, which explains the choice of… read more
“The 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes” Medium: tempera on plaster The mural occupies a stairwell. All its components cannot be viewed at once. The following text is quoted from an informational postcard handout available on site: In 1937, the Work Projects… read more
Aimee Gorham created a large wooden marquetry at the rear of Ainsworth auditorium. The piece is usually hidden behind band equipment and room dividers. In danger of damage unless acknowledged as US property, not Portland Public School property. According to Barry N…. read more
The monument itself dates from 1893 but the original marble bust was replaced in 1934 by a bronze one sculpted by Evaline Sellors as a PWAP project. The curbing (reflecting pool) around the Al Hayne Monument is a CWA project:… read more
In 1932, the city government began grading work and site preparations on the grounds of the Ala Moana park with the help of territorial relief funds. But it was the advent of federal assistance in 1933 that expanded the scope of… read more
The former main entrance on the east side of the Alameda County Courthouse leads to an elegant lobby flanked by stairways and two large murals made of inlaid marble backed with gold and silver leaf. The murals, which measure… read more
Ivan Albright’s 1934 self-portrait is his first ever known painted self-portrait (of many to be created throughout his life.) It was made as part of the PWAP’s easel painting project. He personally requested it be presented to his alma mater,… read more
These carvings adorn the ceiling of Building No. 1 of the Veterans’ Hospital, which was likely also a WPA project. From Public Art and Architecture in New Mexico 1933-1943 by Kathryn Flynn (2012): “Building No. 1 which currently houses the… read more
The mural “Daily Bread” — currently on display at the Algona Public Library — was completed with New Deal funds in 1941. The painting by Francis Robert White, formerly in the Algona Iowa post office, moved to the Algona Public… read more
New Deal Daily, July 3, 2018: “While in the WPA, Zemnick created several sculptures highlighting the transportation history of Ohio. The pieces were created ca. 1935-1939. They are now incorporated into a multi-panel history display at the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA).”… read more
Ruth Reeves painted this mural, entitled “Student Activities in School,” for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It was housed at the Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria, Queens, and believed by Living New Deal to be no longer extant.
Ann Rice O’Hanlon’s was commissioned in 1934 through the Treasury Relief Art Project to create a fresco featured in Memorial Hall on the University of Kentucky’s Lexington campus. “The large fresco in the lobby of Memorial Hall depicts scenes from… read more
Charles Kassler painted three lunettes for what was then the Beverly Hills Post Office in 1936: “Post Rider,” “Construction–PWA” and “Air Mail.”
This frieze on the ceilings of the library’s reading rooms depicts “Flowers and Animals” and was funded by the FAP and WPA. The artist is currently unknown to the Living New Deal. The library itself was completed in 1932, but is… read more
Completed in 1942, this mural “Apponaug Fishermen” by artist Paul Sample depicts local shellfishers in Apponaug Cove. It resides in the Apponaug Post Office, dedicated in 1940.
Richard Ayer’s bas relief “Nautical Abstractions” is composed of paint on plaster with embedded rope and piping. It is located on the 3rd floor of the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. Ayer also painted the mural “Tugboats” installed on the… read more
Beniamino Bufano’s brown granite sculptures of, respectively, a seal and a frog were completed in 1942 with the help of FAP funds. They are available for view on the bayside exterior porch.
This oil-on-plaster “Prismatarium” mural was designed by Hilaire Hilel to give “striking demonstrations on the relationship of color and light.” It covers the walls and ceiling of a circular room on the west side of the building. Originally, the light… read more
This 14′ x 125′ glazed tile “Sea Forms” mural was created by Sargent Johnson in 1939 with the help of FAP funds. The east end is incomplete because of artist protests over plans for a private restaurant on the site…. read more
Sargent Johnson’s 30′ x 14′ “Sea Form Marquee” frieze of incised green slate at the Aquatic Park in San Francisco was completed in 1939 with FAP funds. Johnson also created a 3′ x 5′ ceramic lintel bas relief on the 4th… read more
The Works Progress Administration built the grandstand at the Arizona State Fair grounds in Phoenix. “As the Great Depression deepened and thousands were uprooted and looking for work, numerous fairgrounds were turned into camps for these transients. The Arizona State… read more
David M. Hartz, superintendent of Arlington’s schools, requested from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a mural of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox to adorn the walls of Arlington High School as a memorial of the folkloric past of… read more
“Located in the historic downtown area of Raton, New Mexico, Arthur Johnson Memorial Library building was originally built” as the community’s post office in 1917, well prior to the advent of the New Deal. “Remodeling in the late 1990’s opened… read more
H. Louis Freund painted this 13′ x 4’8″ oil on canvas mural “Early Days and First Post Office in Pocahontas” in 1939 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the post office in Pocahontas. After years of damage, it… read more
Arnold Friedman painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled “Environs of Warrentown,” in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was originally installed in the Warrentown post office but was removed in the early 1980’s… read more
This Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural was painted by William Dean Faussett in tempera on gesso in 1939. From contributor Jimmy Emerson, DVM: “It was originally installed in the Augusta PO but now is in storage in the Augusta… read more
These two oil on canvas murals, entitled “Farm Landscape” and “Point Loma,” were painted by Charles Reiffel on a commission from the WPA Federal Art Project in 1937. They were originally installed at Memorial Junior High School. Each mural measures… read more
The Public Works of Art Project funded the painting of the Banning High School Mural in Banning CA. The 65-feet long mural depicts scenes from Banning’s history, showing its farming and mining legacy. The mural is titled “The Drama of Banning” and… read more
Marion Sanford completed this plaster bas relief, entitled “Weighing Cotton,” in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in what was originally the Winder post office. It is viewable in the Exhibit Room of the Barrow… read more
This 7’11” x 11’6″ mural “Characters from Children’s Literature” was painted by Roberta Elvis with WPA Federal Art Project funds.
This building was originally the Textile High School, then the Straubenmuller Textile High School, then the Charles Evans Hughes High School, before eventually assuming its current title as the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex. It is now an NYC “vertical campus”… read more
The historic Baytown Historical Museum building (formerly Federal Building / post office) houses an example of New Deal artwork: “Texas,” a fresco mural by Barse Miller. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was restored… read more
