
The United States of America was in crisis as 1934 approached.
Bernice Cross (American artist, b 1912) Georgetown Corner in the Rain 1934
Art seemed irrelevant, as the national economy fell into a profound depression after the stock market crash of October 1929.

Thousands of banks failed, wiping out the life savings of millions of families.

Farmers battled natural disasters of drought & erosion, as food prices fell.
Doulgass Crockwell (American artist, 1904-1968) Paper Workers, 1934
Businesses struggled or collapsed.
Earle Richardson (American artist, 1912-1935) Employment of Negroes in Agriculture, 1934
A quarter of the work force was unemployed, while an equal number worked reduced hours.

More & more people were homeless & hungry.
1934 Ross Dickinson (American artist, 1903-1978) Valley Farms
Nearly 10,000 unemployed artists faced destitution.

The nation looked expectantly to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was inaugurated in March 1933.

The new administration swiftly initiated a wide-ranging series of economic recovery programs called the New Deal.

The President realized that Americans needed not only employment but also the inspiration art could provide.

On December 8, 1933, the Advisory Committee to the Treasury on Fine Arts organized the Public Works of Art Project.

Within days, 16 regional committees were recruiting artists who eagerly set to work in all parts of America. The Public Works of Art Project paid weekly wages directly to qualified artists to create works which were then owned by the federal government.
1934 E. Dewey Albinson (American artist, 1898-1971) Northern Minnesota Mine
Between December 1933 & June 1934, the PWAP hired 3,749 artists who created 15,663 paintings, murals, sculptures, prints, drawings, & craft works.
1934 Harry W. Scheuch (American artist, 1906-1978) Workers on the Cathedral of Learning Smithsonian
The PWAP suggested “the American Scene” as appropriate subject matter, but allowed artists to interpret this idea freely.

PWAP images vividly capture the realities & ideals of Depression-era America.

The PWAP art displayed in schools, libraries, post offices, museums, & government buildings lifted the spirits of Americans all over the country.
Paul Kelpe (American artist, 1902-1985) Machinery Abstract #2, 1934
The success of the PWAP paved the way for later New Deal art programs, including the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project.
Nicolai Cikovsky (American artist, 1894-1984) Apple Pickers (mural study), 1934
In April 1934, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., exhibited over 500 works created under the PWAP.

President Franklin Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, & government officials who attended the exhibition acclaimed the art enthusiastically. The Roosevelts selected 32 paintings for the White House, while senators, representatives, & cabinet secretaries chose works to adorn their offices.

During the 1960s hundreds of these PWAP paintings were transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where they open windows into the America of 1934.
1934 Charles F. Quest (American artist 1904-1993) The Builders
1934 Alexandre Hogue, Draught-Stricken Land
1934 Kenneth M. Adams (American artist, 1897-1966) Juan Duran
1934 Alexandre Hogue, Drouth Stricken Area
1934 Arthur Durston (English-born American artist, 1889-1938) Industry
1934 Isaac Soyer (1902 Russia-1981 America) Art Beauty Shoppe
1934 Daniel Celentano (American artist, 1902-1980) Festival
1934 Ilya Bolotowsky, (Russian-born American artist) In the Barber Shop
1934 Gerald Sargent Foster, Racing, 1934
1934 Carl Redin (American artist, 1882-1954) At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico
1934 Herman Maril Sketch of Old Baltimore Waterfront
1934 Arnold Ness Klagstad Archer Daniels Midland Elevator
1934 Joseph Meert (Blegian-born American artist, 1905-1989) Surveyors
1934 Charles Sheeler (American artist, ) Connecticut Barns in Landscape
1934 Moris Kantor Baseball at Night
1934 Kenjiro Nomura The Farm
1934 Max Arthur Cohn (American artist, 1903-1998) Coal Tower
1934 John R. Grabach, The Fifth Year
1934 Leo Breslau (American artist' 1909-2005) Plowing 1934
1934 Karl Fortess (American artist, 1907-1993) Island Dock Yard
1934 Pino Janni Waterfront Scene
1934 Paul Benjamin Cross Road--Still Life
1934 Robert Brackman (American artist, 1894-1964) Somewhere in America
1934 Ray Strong (American artist, 1905-2006) Golden Gate Bridge
1934 Tyrone Comfort, Gold is Where You Find It
1934 William Arthur Cooper (American artist, 1895-1974) Lumber Industry
From The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.