Jungle

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
Paul Kirtland Mays, Jungle, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, 42 1475 1/​2in. (107.3191.7cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.51

Artwork Details

Title
Jungle
Date
1933-1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
42 14751/​2in. (107.3191.7cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Pennsylvania
  • Landscape — tropic
  • Animal — deer
  • Landscape — forest
  • Animal — monkey
Object Number
1965.18.51

Artwork Description

A lush, charming scene filled with tropical greenery and beautiful, gentle animals welcomes the viewer of Jungle. This is no scientific study of a foreign land. The blackbuck at the far left is the only identifiable animal; the others are stylized generalizations rather than real species. This is a fantasy jungle, devoid of biting insects and threatening predators. The painting is as delightfully impossible as popular Depression-era jungle movies like the 1932 Tarzan, The Ape Man, featuring Indian elephants alongside African chimpanzees. The frustrated ape at the center of the painting is reminiscent of the chimps in the Tarzan movies. Like the Hollywood products of its day, this painting offers viewers a colorful temporary refuge from the grim realities of Depression-era America. The parallels between canvas and film are no accident. A few years earlier artist Paul Kirtland Mays had painted fantastic visions on the walls of Hollywood movie palaces like the Paramount Theatre and Grauman's Theatre. The artist wrote to the PWAP that his career painting murals in California had been "frustrated or shattered" by the financial crash of 1929. He was delighted that the government’s art program allowed him to work again "as a decorator craftsman."

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Works by this artist (5 items)

Kenneth M. Adams, Evening, ca. 1950-1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1991.205.2
Evening
Dateca. 1950-1960
oil on canvas
On view
Kenneth M. Adams, Deer Track (Pa-ee-na), after 1924, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1991.205.1
Deer Track (Pa-ee-na)
Dateafter 1924
oil on canvas
On view
Kenneth M. Adams, Taos Indian Woman, ca. 1920-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1993.48.1
Taos Indian Woman
Dateca. 1920-1930
oil on canvas
On view
Harvest
Date1940
lithograph on paper
Not on view

Related Books

1934_500.jpg
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.

More Artworks from the Collection

Unidentified, Pieced quilt (Flying Geese), ca. 1845-1850, calicoes and chintz, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 1998.149.33
Pieced quilt (Flying Geese)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1845-1850
calicoes and chintz
Not on view
Louise Todd Cope, Flax II, ca. 1970s, flax and linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.8
Flax II
Dateca. 1970s
flax and linen
Not on view
Katherine Lewis, Rope Coil, 2011, willow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.39
Rope Coil
Date2011
willow
Not on view
Unidentified, Untitled, ca. 1860, cotton, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.10
Untitled
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1860
cotton
Not on view