Living New Deal founder Gray Brechin, and director Richard Walker, were interviewed on PBS News Hour by host Jeffrey Brown. “It’s a hidden history right in front of our eyes. The buildings, artworks and so much more were created all… read more
The Eye of the Beholder The Federal Art Project (FAP), (1935-1943), provided jobs to 10,000 struggling artists. They created thousands of artworks, including roughly 2,500 murals that adorn many public buildings—city halls, schools, post offices—to this day. The FAP… read more
Tell Us About Your Favorite New Deal Site Does a Shelf of Books Qualify as Public Works? My favorite WPA project isn’t a road or a bridge or even a school. It’s not a library, but you’re getting warmer. The… read more
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was accomplished in many pursuits, but, according to the New Yorker, other than scrambled eggs she couldn’t cook worth beans. To show solidarity with those suffering during the Great Depression, upon moving in to the White… read more
WPA artist Victor Arnautoff’s controversial mural, “Life of Washington,” has been a lightning rod for controversy ever since it was completed in 1936. The 1600-foot fresco covering the walls and ceiling of the main entryway at San Francisco’s George Washington… read more
Oregon national associate Judith Kenny and videographers Logan Duello and Alex Hilton recently produced a short video on the five Public Works Administration (PWA) bridges that completed the Oregon Coast Highway (Hwy 101). The five bridges serve the southwest coast… read more
The Legacy of the New Deal in The Inglewood, CA Post Office The Daily Breeze has published a piece on the New Deal-funded bas-reliefs that have enlivened the Inglewood post office since the New Deal era. Read the whole piece… read more
Tuesday, November 15, 2022 5pm-6pm PST (8pm EST)with Barbara Bernstein The New Deal didn’t just decorate post offices. It celebrated them. Murals, bas reliefs and sculptures depict letters being written, mailed, sorted, transported, delivered, read and shared. These artworks are… read more
ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH ADVERSITY FDR was 39 years old when he was stricken with polio in 1921. Back then, people with disabilities were considered weak and unemployable. FDR’s opponents sought to exploit his inability to walk as a political vulnerability. He… read more