New Deal Tugboat Art (5/5): "Beginning of the Day"

Above: "Beginning of the Day," a drypoint on paper by Louis Lozowick (1892-1973), created while he was in the WPA's art program, 1940. After his death, Lozowick's wife said, "He always did what he wanted to do. He didn't care about prevalent styles, nor about the market. He was doing abstractions when others were doing realist work, and when others were doing abstract things, he was doing realist pieces" ("The Urban Legacy of Louis Lozowick," New York Times, November 15, 1981). Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Tugboat Art (4/5): "Tugboats, Pier 17 East River"

Above: "Tugboats, Pier 17 East River," a photograph by Berenice Abbott (1898-1991). Abbott took this photograph while preparing for the 1939 book Changing New York, a work sponsored by the WPA's Federal Art Project. Photo courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Ackland Art Museum.

New Deal Tugboat Art (3/5): "Tug Boat" by Max Kahn

Above: "Tug Boat," a crayon, brush, and tusche lithograph, by Max Kahn (1902-2005), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Max Kahn met his future wife Eleanor Coen (1916-2010) while the two were at the Art Institute of Chicago and also while they worked in the WPA. They married in 1942 and went on to become two of the world's most renown lithographers. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

New Deal Tugboat Art (2/5): "Tug Boats" by Shizu Utsunomiya

Above: "Tug Boats," a watercolor by Shizu Utsunomiya, created while the artist was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1938. I didn't find any information on Utsunomiya on the Internet, however a December 3rd, 1939 edition of the Ogden Standard-Examiner newspaper (Ogden, Utah) discussed an exhibit of art at the Utah Art Center in Salt Lake City, consisting of watercolor paintings and photographs, called "Scenes of San Francisco." One of Shizu Utsunomiya's paintings of San Francisco, "Cityscape," was part of the exhibit. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

New Deal Tugboat Art (1/5): "B-20, Tugboats in San Francisco Bay"

Above: "B-20, Tugboats in San Francisco Bay," a watercolor by Dong Kingman (1911-2000) created while he was in the WPA's art program, ca. 1942. While studying art and improving his skills in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Kingman "worked at various jobs, from factory work to employment as a houseboy for a San Francisco family." The WPA offered Kingman one of his earliest opportunities to excel, and he went on to become a prolific artist. His work was eventually sought out by Hollywood and popular magazines (see Kingman's biography here). Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

New Deal Farm and Seafood Markets

Above: All across the United States, New Deal workers built or improved markets to connect farmers & seafood workers to consumers. The "City Market House" above, in Austin, Texas, was built with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), ca. 1933-1941. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A worker cleans peaches for sale at a farmer's market in Washington, DC, 1939. This photograph was taken by Marjory Collins while she was in the New Deal's Farm Security Administration. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: A farmer's market building, constructed by WPA workers in Valdosta, Georgia, 1938. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and the New Deal Network.

Above: WPA workers also repaired existing market buildings. The description for this photograph reads, "The market modernization program which began in November 1938, has resulted in the construction, reconstruction and remodeling of a number of markets by WPA. This is an exterior shot of the St. Roch Market [New Orleans], more than 100 years old, which has been completely reconditioned and is now in use." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: The PWA was also active in New Orleans. The description for this photograph, ca. 1933-1942, reads, "The modern French Market which was constructed by PWA at New Orleans, LA." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Vegetable booths in the new French Market in New Orleans." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Fish and game, from which New Orleans chefs concoct world famous dishes, are proudly displayed in the New French Market, constructed by PWA, at New Orleans, Louisiana." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Wharf Markets," an egg tempera painting by Victor Hugo Basinet (1889-1956), depicting the seafood markets of Monterey, California, and created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1936. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Manhattan Fulton Fish Market," a wood engraving print by Hendrik J. Glitenkamp (1887-1946), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: "Market," a watercolor painting by Robert Franklin Gates (1906-1982), depicting a market scene in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and created while he was in the New Deal's Treasury Relief Art Project, 1936. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "The Market," a tempera painting by Virginia Darce (1910-1985), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1938. Image courtesy of the Portland Art Museum, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: "Produce Market District in Chicago," described as a "Woodcut in brown on thin cream Japanese paper," created by Adrian Troy (1901-1977) while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1943. Image courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: New Deal workers not only built and improved market buildings, but they also built many farm-to-market roads. For example, in 1941, the following was reported: "In the course of six years, ending with June 1941, WPA workers completed the construction or improvement of more than 600,000 miles of roads. The greater part of this mileage represents work on roads in rural areas. Many of these are farm-to-market roads giving farmers all-weather access to markets, schools, and shopping centers" (Federal Works Agency, Report on Progress of the WPA Program, June 30, 1941, p. 4). The scene above shows WPA workers building a farm-to-market road in Iowa, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

New Deal Therapy

Above: "Happy Days," a watercolor by Abraham Mark Datz (1889-1969), created while he was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1940. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Stagnant wages for American workers... crushing student loan debt for college graduates... children drinking lead all across the country... perpetual war in Afghanistan and Iraq... suicide rates rising every year... white nationalists battling counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia... Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un waving their nukes at one another... and a wealthy, ruling elite--in American business and government--that happily kills & injures us for profit, with cigarettes, hyper-marketing of opioids, private prisons, huge investments in missiles & bombs, and other manifestations of their psychopathy.

Sometimes, it's just too much. Fortunately, many New Deal artworks offer therapy for these troubled times by providing immersion into beautiful landscapes, peaceful nature, and the simplicity of childhood. A respite from the madness. 

Above: "Swans in the Land of the Sky Blue Water," a watercolor by Floyd Thornton Martin (1884-1956), created while he was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1940. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Quietude," an oil painting by Edward Firn (1909-1966), created while he was in the New Deal's Treasury Relief Art Project, 1935. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Rifka Telling a Story," a watercolor by Rifka Angel (1899-1988), created while she was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1939. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Winter in the Catskill Mountains," an oil painting by John W. Bentley (1880-1951), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Art: "A Nickel's Worth of Moonlight"

Above: "A Nickel's Worth of Moonlight," a color crayon, brush, and tusche lithograph by Raymond White Skolfield (1909-1996), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

New Deal trains & railroads: A photo & art story of jobs, infrastructure investment, and transportation improvement

Above: "Locomotive Standing," a lithograph by Harold Faye (1910-1980), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Program, 1939. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

One of the few bright spots in the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card is America's rail system. While our nation's infrastructure, as a whole, received a D+, our rail system received a B. But the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) notes that there's still a lot of room for improvement: "Through both public and private investment, funding for freight and passenger rail has been growing over the past five years. But despite this increase in funding, the amount needed to maintain, modernize, and expand capacity has not been met."

Under the Trump Administration, and the Republican Congress, we should not expect comprehensive funding to happen. For example, in keeping with the central principle of the conservative movement (i.e., cut or eliminate domestic programs to fund military adventures and tax breaks for the rich), the Trump budget is calling for massive cuts to our rail systems (see, e.g., "Trump budget slashes federal aid for rail, long-distance Amtrak routes," Washington Post, May 23, 2017, "Trump budget cuts funding for security at train stations, rail networks," Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2017, and "Trump budget to cut rail services to hundreds of rural communities," The Independent, April 7, 2017). Yes, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and the plutocratic-Goldman-Sachs-Trump-Administration want to dim one of the few bright spots in the ASCE's report card.

The philosophy was quite different during the New Deal. Massive investments were made in America's trains and railroads. And the results were improved infrastructure, improved service, new jobs, and the maintenance of existing jobs. WPA workers, for example, built railroad tunnels, laid down new tracks, salvaged old tracks, and helped improve the Alaska Railroad.

(For more information on the WPA's work, see: Federal Works Agency, Report on Progress of the WPA Program, June 30, 1939, pp. 124, 127; Federal Works Agency, Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43, pp. 34, 47, 53, 85, 86-87, 93, 118, and 131; and Annual Report of the Governor of Alaska to the Secretary of the Interior, fiscal year 1939, p. 6).

Above: "Railroad Crossing," a lithograph by Blendon Reed Campbell (1872-1969), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1939. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Sheldon Museum of Art.

Of all the New Deal programs, the Public Works Administration (PWA, not WPA) probably played the largest role in (a) improving America's rail infrastructure and (b) maintaining rail jobs. In its 1939 report, America Builds, the PWA highlighted the hard times the railroads were experiencing during the Great Depression, and explained its role in alleviating those hard times: 

"PWA sought to help the railroads out. Being private corporations, they were not eligible for grants, but PWA made loans totaling upward of $200,000,000 to 32 railroads for improvements [about 3.6 billion in today's dollars]... The outstanding allotment was the $31,900,000 loan to the Pennsylvania Railroad for completion of electrification of its lines between New York and Washington, and $6,290,000 for purchasing electric locomotives, bringing the two cities 1 hour closer to each other. On many another railroad, the Diesel-powered, lightweight streamlined trains, such as the Rebel of the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad in the South, and the Flying Yankee in New England, that daily flash thousands of people from city to city, are the results of PWA loans. Still other railroads used PWA funds to iron 'kinks' out of roadbeds, improve rights-of-way. These allotments, made in the early days of PWA, enabled the railroads, normally one of the Nation's great employers, to recall many men to their jobs. In July 1934 nearly 70,000 men were working in on-the-site employment in work financed by PWA railroad loans" (p. 189).

The following images and quoted captions, unless otherwise noted, were created by the PWA and/or the WPA (ca. 1933-1940), are provided courtesy of the National Archives, and show PWA-funded projects:

  Above: "Car construction crew put to work with PWA funds at the Baltimore and Ohio shops at Keyser, West Virginia."

Above: "A new high speed electric locomotive ready to start its run between Washington and New York. PWA funds financed the purchase of this train."

Above: "Workmen bring an old type steam locomotive up-to-date in the Pennsyvania shops. This work was financed by PWA funds."

Above: "The Rebel, crack streamliner of the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad, slides out of the yards. PWA funds financed the construction of this train."

Above: "Assembling car frames in the shops. PWA funds financed this work."

Above: "Head-on view of one of Pennsylvania Railroad's new electric locomotives. The purchase of this locomotive was financed with PWA funds."

Above: "Scene on the Pennsylvania Railroad." (New Deal investment in trains and railroads meant better service for passengers.)

Above: "Long Island Railroad," an oil painting by Earl John Colville (1878-1970), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and Gregory Halpern.

Above: "This streamline steam locomotive pulls the crack train of the Milwaukee Road - the Hiawatha. This train was purchased with PWA funds."

Above: The Flying Yankee, one of New England's crack streamliners. PWA funds financed the purchase of this train." (Recently, the Flying Yankee was restored, with hopes of public viewing).

Above: "Scene on the Pennsylvania Railroad line." 

Above: "Railroad Retirement," a sculpture by Robert Kittredge (1910-2003), created while he was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1941. This sculpture, and other New Deal art, is located in the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building (formerly the Railroad Retirement Board Building) at 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC. Trains and railroads provide many good jobs that can't be sent overseas - conductors, switch operators, engineers, car attendants, construction workers, inspectors, mechanics, machinists, cooks, and more. Many of these jobs provide good wages and benefits. Given this, shouldn't we be investing and promoting America's rail industry more, instead of less? What is the Trump Administration thinking? Well, considering that it's packed full of born-into-wealth plutocrats, Koch-funded Tea Partiers, Goldman Sachs alumni, and the like, it's quite clear that they're thinking more about tax breaks for the rich (i.e., themselves), and less about good American jobs that support healthy middle-class lives and sound retirements. As Trump would say, or rather, tweet: "Sad!" Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and Kristen Fusselle.

A WPA bookmobile in South Dakota

Above: A WPA-operated bookmobile in South Dakota, ca. 1935-1943. On the back of the bookmobile, it reads, "The bookmobile system reaches many rural communities and citizens. Constant interchange of books between the central library and the branches and stations make any book available to any reader in the region. It serves 23 small communities. Travels about 900 miles over the circuit monthly." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

New Deal Art and Theatre Caravans

Above: A WPA art caravan in New York state, ca. 1935-1939. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA poster advertising mobile theatre unit performances in New York City, 1937. Image courtesy of  George Mason University.

WPA artists of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area, part 5: Art for the people

Above: J. Orlowsky lived on Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Between 1935 and 1943, WPA artists created 108,000 easel works for public places across the United States (paintings, sketches, portraits, etc.). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Lawrence Pefferly lived on Newton Street, NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Between 1935 and 1943, WPA artists created 18,800 sculptures for public places across the United States. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Virginia Sobotka lived on Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC, while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Did you know that there were art shows for women painters in the WPA? See poster image below. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA poster advertising an art show for women painters in the WPA. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: George Newton lived on Girard St., NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Shortly before the Federal Art Project was created, one of Harry Hopkins' assistant relief administrators, Jacob Baker, explained the New Deal's attitude towards unemployed artists: "It has been recognized that when an artist or musician is hungry he is just as hungry as a bricklayer and has the same right as a bricklayer has to be employed at his own trade. For the first time in our history, our government has become a patron of the arts, officially and quite unashamed" (Jacob Baker, "Work Relief: The Program Broadens," New York Times, November 11, 1934). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Ralph Cesar lived on H St., NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. In 1937, the director of the Federal Art Project, Holger Cahill, explained the recent history of American art, and thus, the rationale behind the more public nature of New Deal art: "We have subordinated art to our desire to pile up personal possessions, to our interest in conspicuous display and conspicuous waste. We have subordinated art to our consuming passion for commercial success, to our materialistic will-to-power. We have subordinated art to our love of rivalry, our passion to outdo others in competitive activity and we have subjected it further to the whims of social snobbery, the erratic interests of dilettantism, to arbitrary judgments and irresponsible criticism. And in doing so we have helped to push art from its honorable place as a vital necessity of everyday life and have made of it a luxury product intended for the casual enjoyment of jaded wealth. And wealth has practically stopped demanding the product since the great depression" ("Holder Cahill, 67, Art Expert, Dies," New York Times, July 9, 1960). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Lucy Leadbetter, a model maker, lived on 11th St., NW, Washington, DC, while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. WPA workers, like Leadbetter, provided great assistance to museums across the country, as the Final Report on the WPA Program described in 1946: "WPA workers assisted museums in the making of dioramas, models, maps, lantern slides, and other visual aid devices for extension work in public schools. These workers also assisted museums in the rearrangement and modernization of exhibits, and in the creation of accurate miniature representation of scenes illustrating (for example) the use of garments, dwellings and implements by aborigines and prehistoric peoples. WPA clerical workers assisted in the classifying and indexing of art, archaeological, and historic materials" (p. 63). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Newton Canter lived on Massachusetts Ave., NE, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Notice that Canter is working on the same large diorama / model that Lucy Leadbetter worked on (see previous photo). Canter's background painting blends in perfectly with Leadbetter's landscape model work. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Richard McDermott lived on Kalorama Rd., NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. President Franklin Roosevelt once said, "The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration is a practical relief project which also emphasizes the best tradition of the democratic spirit. The WPA artist, in rendering his own impression of things, speaks also for the spirit of his fellow countrymen everywhere. I think the WPA artist exemplifies with great force the essential place which the arts have in a democratic society such as ours" ("Radio Dedication of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, May 10, 1939," University of California Santa Barbara). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Arthur Ramier lived on 15th St., NW, Washington, DC, while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. It's frequently hard to find biographical information about WPA artists, for example, all the artists shown above. But I was able to find a small amount of information on Ramier. Based on various sources (two linked below), it seems he was born on October 10, 1901, and died on October 29, 1963 (see USGenWeb Archives here). He served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Radioman Petty Officer First Class and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery (see Find-a-Grave here). He was survived by his wife, Manila C. Ramier (who appears to have been a long time civil servant in the federal government), a daughter, Ann C. Ramier, and a brother and sister, Kenneth and Florence (see, "Deaths... Ramier, Arthur Charles," Washington Post, November 3, 1963, p. B11). Interestingly, Ramier died at "American Hospital" in Paris, France, perhaps indicating family connections there (his home address at the time of his death, however, was listed as 4401 Alabama Ave., SE, Washington, DC). Today, there is a Florence Ramier Art Gallery in France. Considering Arthur Ramier died in France, and that he was an artist, and that his sister's name was Florence (perhaps named after a mother or grandmother), maybe the Florence Ramier Art Gallery is, in some way, connected to Ramier and his family. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.