1934: A New Deal for Artists

Media - 1964.1.40 - SAAM-1964.1.40_1 - 89419

Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934

In 1934, Americans grappled with an economic situation that feels all too familiar today. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration created the Public Works of Art Project — the first federal government program to support the arts nationally. Federal officials in the 1930s understood how essential art was to sustaining America’s spirit. Artists from across the United States who participated in the program, which lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934, were encouraged to depict ​“the American Scene.” The Public Works of Art Project not only paid artists to embellish public buildings, but also provided them with a sense of pride in serving their country. They painted regional, recognizable subjects — ranging from portraits to cityscapes and images of city life to landscapes and depictions of rural life — that reminded the public of quintessential American values such as hard work, community and optimism.

Description

1934: A New Deal for Artists was organized to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Public Works of Art Project by drawing on the Smithsonian American Art Museum's unparalleled collection of vibrant artworks created for the program. The paintings in this exhibition are a lasting visual record of America at a specific moment in time. George Gurney, curator emeritus, organized the exhibition with Ann Prentice Wagner, curator of drawings at the Arkansas Art Center.

Visiting Information

February 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010
Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m
Free Admission

Tour Schedule

The Frick Art & Historical Center
Pittsburgh, PA
January 30, 2010 – April 25, 2010
Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Fort Wayne, IN
May 21, 2010 – August 22, 2010
Whatcom Museum of History and Art
Bellingham, WA
October 16, 2010 – January 9, 2011
Mennello Museum of American Art
Orlando, FL
February 11, 2011 – May 1, 2011
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Oklahoma City, OK
May 26, 2011 – August 11, 2011
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery, AL
September 24, 2011 – January 8, 2012
Muskegon Museum of Art
Muskegon, MI
February 16, 2012 – May 6, 2012
Minnesota Historical Society
St Paul, MN
June 2, 2012 – September 22, 2012
New York State Museum
Albany, NY
October 19, 2012 – January 20, 2013
Chazen Museum of Art
Madison, WI
February 16, 2013 – April 28, 2013
Figge Art Museum
Davenport, IA
September 28, 2013 – January 5, 2014

Publications

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1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.

Online Gallery

Kenneth M. Adams, Juan Duran, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.148
Juan Duran
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
E. Dewey Albinson, Northern Minnesota Mine, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.49
Northern Minnesota Mine
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Ivan Albright, The Farmer's Kitchen, ca. 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.74
The Farmer’s Kitchen
Artist
Dateca. 1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Paul Benjamin, Cross Road--Still Life, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.18
Cross Road – Still Life
Artist
Dateca. 1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Saul Berman, River Front, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.169
River Front
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Beulah R. Bettersworth, Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.7
Christopher Street, Greenwich Village
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Ilya Bolotowsky, In the Barber Shop, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.79
In the Barber Shop
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Robert Brackman, Somewhere in America, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.75
Somewhere in America
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Leo Breslau, Plowing, 1934, oil on wood: plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.2
Plowing
Artist
Date1934
oil on wood: plywood
Not on view
Daniel Celentano, Festival, 1934, oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.55
Festival
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard
Not on view
Arthur E. Cederquist, Old Pennsylvania Farm in Winter, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.37
Old Pennsylvania Farm in Winter
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Max Arthur Cohn, Coal Tower, ca. 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.4
Coal Tower
Artist
Dateca. 1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Tyrone Comfort, Gold Is Where You Find It, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.49
Gold Is Where You Find It
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
William Arthur Cooper, Lumber Industry, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.154
Lumber Industry
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Douglass Crockwell, Paper Workers, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.152
Paper Workers
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
John Cunning, Manhattan Skyline, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.44
Manhattan Skyline
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Thomas James Delbridge, Lower Manhattan, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.51
Lower Manhattan
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.40
Valley Farms
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Alice Dinneen, Black Panther, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.89
Black Panther
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Julia Eckel, Radio Broadcast, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.66
Radio Broadcast
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Karl Fortess, Island Dock Yard, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.94
Island Dock Yard
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Gerald Sargent Foster, Racing, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.9
Racing
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Lily Furedi, Subway, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.43
Subway
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Charles L. Goeller, Third Avenue, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.142
Third Avenue
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Harry Gottlieb, Filling the Ice House, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.19
Filling the Ice House
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
O. Louis Guglielmi, Martyr Hill, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.125
Martyr Hill
Artist
Dateca. 1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
E. Martin Hennings, Homeward Bound, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.62
Homeward Bound
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Pino Janni, Waterfront Scene, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.5
Waterfront Scene
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
J. Theodore Johnson, Chicago Interior, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.82
Chicago Interior
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Joe Jones, Street Scene, 1933, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.114
Street Scene
Artist
Date1933
oil on canvas
Not on view
Morris Kantor, Baseball at Night, 1934, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Morris Kantor, 1976.146.18
Baseball at Night
Artist
Date1934
oil on linen
On view
Paul Kelpe, Machinery (Abstract #2), 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.27
Machinery (Abstract #2)
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Arnold Ness Klagstad, Archer Daniels Midland Elevator, 1933-1943, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.196
Archer Daniels Midland Elevator
Artist
Date1933-1943
oil on canvas
Not on view
Erle Loran, Minnesota Highway, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.104
Minnesota Highway
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Herman Maril, Sketch of Old Baltimore Waterfront, 1934, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.187
Sketch of Old Baltimore Waterfront
Artist
Date1934
oil on fiberboard
Not on view
Paul Kirtland Mays, Jungle, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.51
Jungle
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Austin Mecklem, Engine House and Bunkers, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.46
Engine House and Bunkers
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Robert A. Darrah Miller, Farm, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.140
Farm
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Carl Gustaf Nelson, Central Park, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.119
Central Park
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Kenjiro Nomura, The Farm, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.36
The Farm
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Carl Redin, At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.166
At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Charles Reiffel, Road in the Cuyamacas, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.176
Road in the Cuyamacas
Artist
Dateca. 1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Earle Richardson, Employment of Negroes in Agriculture, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.183
Employment of Negroes in Agriculture
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Harry W. Scheuch, Finishing the Cathedral of Learning, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.42
Finishing the Cathedral of Learning
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.48
Tenement Flats
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
On view
Harry W. Scheuch, Workers on the Cathedral of Learning, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.157
Workers on the Cathedral of Learning
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Raymond White Skolfield, Natural Power, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.47
Natural Power
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Jacob Getlar Smith, Snow Shovellers, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.22
Snow Shovellers
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Paul Kauvar Smith, The Sky Pond, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.59
The Sky Pond
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Gale Stockwell, Parkville, Main Street, 1933, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.124
Parkville, Main Street
Artist
Date1933
oil on canvas
Not on view
Ray Strong, Golden Gate Bridge, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.50
Golden Gate Bridge
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Agnes Tait, Skating in Central Park, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.15
Skating in Central Park
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Winthrop Duthie Turney, Selection from Birds and Animals of the United States, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.75
Selection from Birds and Animals of the United States
Artist
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Ila McAfee Turner, Mountain Lions, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.80
Mountain Lions
Artist
Date1933-1934
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (American), (Underpass--New York), 1933-1934, oil on photograph on canvas mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration , 1962.8.41
(Underpass – New York)
Artist
Unidentified (American)
Date1933-1934
oil on photograph on canvas mounted on paperboard
On view
Martha Levy, Unidentified, Winter Scene, 1934, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.215
Winter Scene
Artist
Attributed to Martha Levy
Unidentified
Date1934
oil on fiberboard
Not on view