Above: "Parrot," an artwork by Vivian Norman Barto (1876-1962), created while she was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), ca. 1933-1934. Vivian Norman was born in Iowa in 1876, married Howard L. Barto in 1915 in Nebraska, taught school in Washington, and worked in the real estate business in Oregon. She passed away in 1962 in Central Point, Oregon. Her husband died in 1974, and they both rest at the Medford IOOF Cemetery, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Though her name appears in the final report of the Public Works of Art Project ("Barto, Mrs. Vivian N.," "Region No. 16, Oregon...", p. 85), there doesn't seem to be any significant record of her artistic work or ambitions, other than a small file folder at the National Archives. It also doesn't look like Vivian and Howard had any children. So, perhaps the images on this blog post (see below) can serve as a small legacy of her creative work. (See, "Vivian Norman Barto," Medford Mail Tribune (Medford, Oregon), June 14, 1962; and Find A Grave, here and here). Image courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: An oil painting of a "misty morning," by Vivian Norman Barto, probably also created while she was in the PWAP, ca. 1933-1934. A description for this painting notes that it won first prize at the Josephine County Fair. Image courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: Another artwork in Vivian Norman Barto's PWAP folder at the National Archives.
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