Saturday, August 31, 2019

New Deal Art: "Cincinnati Industries"

Above: "Cincinnati Industries," an oil painting by William Harry Gothard (1908-1968), created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. In addition to creating art, Gothard served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, became an expert in art preservation and restoration, worked in the Cincinnati Museum, and had a wife and two children ("William H. Gothard, Art Conservator," The Cincinnati Enquirer, January 21, 1968, p. 6-B). Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Above: A closer look at the center section of Gothard's "Cincinnati Industries," showing dairy & meat production, a power company, and musicians.