The Federal Artist Project

by Aaron Wade

In the 1930s a Great Depression settled into the U.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president during the depression, tried everything he could to fix the many problems of the U.S. One of the most important things he did was to create the New Deal to preserve art, put artists to work, create a new American culture and to help weather the Great Depression.

During the New Deal, several different art programs were created. One such program was The Section of Fine Arts. The Section was created by the treasury Department on October 16, 1934. It's mission was "to secure suitable art of the best quality for the embellishment of public buildings." It was directed by Edward Bruce, who was assisted by Edward Rowan and Forbes Watson. The Section employed 850 artists who competed for individual commissions and contracts for the completion of murals and sculptures. Artists worked alone in their studios and delivered their final product before they received final payment.

The Section committed itself to making art a part of everyday life in both city's and rural areas. The Section used eleven-hundred new post offices to create democratic murals that were seen by people everyday. However, the majority of the public didn't recognize the difference between the Section and the WPA. A summary of different peoples feelings toward the art programs can be found in this work. This helped to promote democracy by showing how good peoples lives were under democracy. In all, the Section commissioned 68 murals and 18 sculptures in New York State, along with 299 commissions to artists working outside of the state. As a result, many of the post office murals that survive today were commissioned by the Section.

Many other Federal Art Programs existed, which included these programs. These programs too helped to spread democracy and provide relief for many artists. In fact, artists were very active in pushing the Roosevelt administration to include a federal art projects in the New Deal proposals. I feel that the Section and other Federal Art Programs also helped to create an American culture which did not exist pre-depression. Also, the art today helps to serve as a window to the past. It shows us how life was back then and gives us a first-person perspective.

Supporting References:

• Park, Marlene and Gerald E. Markowitz "Democratic Vistas". Temple University Press, 1984
• "The Depression & Relief for Artists"

• A New Deal for the Arts