New Deal Dance Art (3/10): Swing Dancing

Above: "Swingtime," an aquatint and etching by Charles L. Sallee, Jr. (1911-2006) created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1943. Sallee was an African American artist and, according to the blog of the Sandusky Library (Ohio), he served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II (as a draftsman and cartographer, designing "roads and escape routes"), and then went on to enjoy "a long career as an interior designer." Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve University.

Above: "Jitterbug Swing," a color woodcut print by David Burke, created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1943. I wasn't able to find much information on David Burke on the Internet or in newspaper archives but, interestingly, it seems that one of his woodcuts from the 1930s, quite possibly a New Deal artwork, is listed as stolen on the FBI's National Stolen Art File ("Fishing Port Landscape with View of Back Bay"). Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: "Evolution of Swing," a lithograph by Raymond Steth (1917-1997), created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1939. This artwork highlights the origins of (or major influence on) swing dance: Africa and slavery. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: A WPA poster, advertising the WPA dance production Swing Parade. Swing Parade was performed in San Francisco from April 15 through June 30, 1937 (Hallie Flanagan, Arena, 1940, p. 391). Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: A WPA poster, advertising the WPA dance production Swing Mikado. Swing Mikado was a very popular federal theatre production and played in several venues across the nation. In New York, it became so popular that some private sector Broadway producers became jealous and upset (see, Susan Quinn, Furious Improvisation, 2008, pp. 270-271). Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

New Deal Dance Art (2/10): "Cowboy Dance"

Above: "Cowboy Dance," a mural study by Jenne Magafan (1916-1952), created for the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1941. On October 20, 1952, at only 35 years of age, Magafan died of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York. She had been an accomplished artist, for example, painting a mural for the Beverly Hills Hotel, and painting another mural that was displayed in the White House. Her twin sister, Ethel (1916-1993), was also an artist, and also participated in New Deal artwork projects. Like their physical appearance, their artwork was very similar, with one newspaper noting that "the works of the Magafan twins were so much alike that it took a practiced eye to detect the difference" (see "Jenne Magafan, Noted Artist, Dies At Albany," The Times Record (Troy, New York), October 21, 1952, and "Jenne Magafan Dies In New York State," Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1952). Just two months before she passed away, Jenne was with her sister Ethel in Europe, both of them studying and traveling on Fulbright Awards ("Village Notes," The Kingston Daily Freemen (Kingston, New York), August 15, 1952). Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Dance Art (1/10): "Eagle Dance"

Above: "Eagle Dance," a painting by R.W.R. Taylor, created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and Mike Ramos.

WPA Bocci

Above: A game of Bocci in Northern California, ca. 1935-1943, part of the WPA's recreation program. Bocci (or Bocce) is sort of cross between bowling and horseshoes. During the New Deal, the WPA offered many opportunities for people to get off their sofas and get into games, sports, dances, art classes, and more. It was great for physical fitness and great for socializing. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Bocci," a lithograph by Harold Anchel (1912-1980), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935-1939. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.

New Deal Beach Art (5/5): "Dunes Near Lighthouse"

Above: "Dunes Near Lighthouse," an oil painting by Mary DeNeale Morgan (1868-1948), created while she was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1942. Morgan was a prolific California artist and her work is held at several prestigious institutions. Her paintings and sketches have been exhibited for over a hundred years (see, e.g., "Berkeley Art Exhibit To Open," Oakland Tribune, November 15, 1908, and "In Brief," The Californian, February 13, 2009 (announcing an exhibit of Morgan's art at the Pacific Grove Library). Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and Neil Greentree Photography.

New Deal Beach Art (4/5): "Low Tide"

Above: "Low Tide," a watercolor painting by Avery F. Johnson (1906-1990), created while he was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, ca. 1938-1939. Johnson specialized in watercolors and was a member of the American Watercolor Society. According to his obituary, he supervised "the Treasury Department art projects in Key West and the Virgin Islands" and then served in "the Office of War Information in North Africa and Italy during World War II." After the war, "He taught at the North New Jersey School of Industrial Art and the Montclair Museum for many years" ("Avery Fischer Johnson, artist," Daily Record (Morristown, New Jersey), July 13, 1990. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

New Deal Beach Art (3/5): "The Beach"

Above: "The Beach," a lithograph by Aline Fruhauf (1907-1978), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1936. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Above: Fruhauf specialized in caricature work and, according to an article on the Georgetown University Library's website, "joined the graphics division of the Federally funded Works Progress Administration (WPA), which further honed her lithographic skills. More importantly, the WPA experience enabled her to meet and mingle with many of the emerging New York artists whom she caricatured in a new series of lithographs entitled Artists at Work, exhibited at the ACA [American Contemporary Art] Gallery in 1938. Her subjects included Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Max Weber, and Raphael Soyer, among others." The lithograph above is titled "Mural Painter at Work" (also created while she was in the WPA) and the woman in the lithograph is probably a self-caricature of Fruhauf. Compare the long neck, glasses, and prominent eye brows to Fruhauf's self-portrait on the Georgetown University website here. Image above courtesy of the General Services Administration and the University of Arizona Museum of Art & Archive of Visual Arts.