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 (162 items)

Mingering Mike, MERCY: "DIG IT" / WELL SHE LOVE'S ME, MINGERING MIKE & HIS FRACTURED SOUL BAND, ca. 1972 - 1975, ink and marker on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.8.85.2, © Mingering Mike
MERCY: DIG IT” / WELL SHE LOVE’S ME, MINGERING MIKE & HIS…
Dateca. 1972 - 1975
ink and marker on paper
Not on view
Mingering Mike, Gold Pot Records: MINGERING MIKE: SWEET WOMAN OF MINE, ca. 1972, ink, marker, crayon, and paint on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.8.110, © Mingering Mike
Gold Pot Records: MINGERING MIKE: SWEET WOMAN OF MINE
Dateca. 1972
ink, marker, crayon, and paint on paperboard
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

Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Nathan Oliveira, Site with Blue and White, 1978, monotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.14
Site with Blue and White
Date1978
monotype
Not on view