Artist

Arthur Durston

born Farnsborough, England 1889-died Los Angeles, CA 1938
Born
Farnsborough, England
Died
Los Angeles, California, United States
Biography

Arthur Durston studied in England, France, and San Francisco before settling in Los Angeles. During the 1930s he created somber images of men and women in stark landscapes while employed by the Public Works of Art Project and the Works Progress Administration, which paid him a tiny weekly wage. These New Deal government programs, created during the Great Depression, were intended to offer support to artists, who were proud to be considered a productive part of the American workforce. Durston's paintings evoked the grim reality of the time, and in 1933 one of his canvases was even criticized for being "too depressing from the standpoint of art." (Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1933, A1)

Works by this artist (1036 items)

View all artworks
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Artist
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Tehran Conference, ca. 1945, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.647
Tehran Conference
Artist
Dateca. 1945
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Jim, 1930, oil on canvas, mounted on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.748
Jim
Artist
Date1930
oil on canvas, mounted on masonite
On view
William H. Johnson, Ferry Boat Trip, ca. 1943-1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1011
Ferry Boat Trip
Artist
Dateca. 1943-1944
oil on paperboard
On view