New Deal Art: "Cafeteria"

Above: "Cafeteria," a color lithograph by Jacob Kainen (1909-2001), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1936. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Art: "Blue Monday"

Above: "Blue Monday," an oil panting by August Casciano (1910-1993), made while the artist was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. A description for the painting reads, in part: "The day's wash hangs on clotheslines outside both houses and the basement door of the house on the right is slightly ajar. Despite this evidence of human life, the houses look as though they could be deserted, creating a ghostly feeling that permeates the painting." Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Artist Eugenie Gershoy and the "Ill-Fated Toreador"

Above: "Ill-Fated Toreador," a wood sculpture by Eugenie Gershoy (1901-1986), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1938. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: Eugenie Gershoy with some of her sculptures, including the "Ill-Fated Toreador," at an art exhibit in New York City, 1938. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Above: Gershoy at work in her New York City studio, 1940. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

In 1964, when Eugenie Gershoy was interviewed by Robert and Mary McChesney in San Francisco, for the Smithsonian Institution, the following exchange occurred:

Mary McChesney: Looking back on [the WPA] period, how do you feel about the government sponsorship of the arts in America?

Eugenie Gershoy: Oh, I think it was one of the most vital, vigorous, and remarkable experiences I have ever had, and I was fully joined in that feeling by everybody who worked on it. I suppose this has been said before, but it was a renaissance of the arts. I think some of the finest work that was done in the United States in that period was produced on the WPA, on the government-sponsored art projects. It was a tremendous thing!

Mary McChesney: Do you think this was true of yourself, that your own work was at a peak then?

Eugenie Gershoy: Oh, definitely! Definitely! I've never been so productive and so enthused and so stimulated by the group activity, too, and the feeling of working together. I think many people got a beginning in their own particular work on the art project, which they couldn't have done otherwise, you see. They didn't have the means; they didn't have the materials; they didn't have the impetus; they didn't have the projecting that stimulated everybody. All sorts of people. In particular, I remember Philip Guston, who had been in a very bad way, got his start on the WPA art project. And so many artists. I could name endless ones who had the opportunity to develop with that beginning. And have developed enormously since. It was a glorious period, really glorious.

The Roosevelts Enjoy Thanksgiving

Above: The description for this 1935 photograph reads, "Eleanor Roosevelt watches as the President operates on the big turkey, setting in motion the annual Thanksgiving feast at Warm Springs, Georgia." Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.

Eleanor Roosevelt Votes!

Above: Eleanor Roosevelt votes in New York, on November 3, 1936. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.

The New Deal in DC: Municipal Building and Mural

(All photos, Brent McKee, November 4, 2016)

Above: Washington, D.C.'s Municipal Building, at 300 Indiana Ave., NW.

Above: An engraved stone on the Municipal Building, showing that it was built in 1940, that the architect was Nathan C. Wyeth, and that funding came from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (or, Public Works Administration, "PWA").

Above: The Municipal Building has some classic Art Deco / Art Moderne features. What makes Art Deco and Art Moderne so interesting (in my opinion) is that it looks both ancient and "science fictiony" at the same time. You can also see that the building is called the Henry J. Daly building, named after a detective who was murdered inside the building by a homicide suspect with an assault weapon in 1994.

Above: A lamp post in front of the building. We don't make 'em like that anymore.

Above: A closer look at the eagle on top of the lamp post.

Above: A decoration above a door, perhaps a rising sun.

Above: In the inner courtyard of the Municipal Building, there is a great relief mural. According to art historian Dr. Thomas Folk, it was created by WPA artist Waylande Gregory: "Gregory's largest WPA relief mural was for Washington D.C.'s Police and Fire Departments titled: 'Democracy in Action' (1941). The mural depicts the actions of the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire Department. The finished work measures approximately 81 feet long and eight feet high and is composed of 518 glazed, 14 inch, colored, terra cotta tiles... The largest relief tile depicts the most significant and controversial scene. It presents two policemen in a violent confrontation with two African American males."

  Above: This and the following images show the mural as it proceeds from left to right (the previous image is the left-most portion of the relief mural).

Above: DC firemen putting out a fire.

Above: The firemen save a child.

Above: Here is the controversial portion of the relief mural that Dr. Folk mentioned.

Above: The relief mural, as a whole, seems to show different treatment of DC residents by first responders. In the beginning, we see images of police and firemen serving the white community. As the mural goes on, it shows a more authoritarian behavior towards African Americans. If my interpretation is correct, and if we consider today's current issues, it shows how these sorts of controversies linger on, decade after decade after decade. (There is a little more of the relief mural, towards the right, but I couldn't get a good picture of it because a tree was in the way).

New Deal Art: "Railroad Mood"

Above: "Railroad Mood," a wood engraving on paper, by Charles Surendorf (1906-1979), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.