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Prominent California artist Jo Mora produced twenty-three cast-concrete, bas-relief busts (approximately 12" x 18" in size) for the exterior of the Monterey County Courthouse.  The reliefs appear in the spandrels between first and second story windows all around the building and in the courtyard. The work is titled "California Faces" and represents 23 types of people who were important in California history, which Mora called:   Indian Man, Indian Woman, Junipero Serra, Juan Cabrillo, John Fremont, Pioneer Man, Pioneer Woman, Spanish Woman, Asian Woman. The project was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP), an arm of the Works Progress Administration, and installed in 1937. While we might not make the same choices of...

Prominent California artist Jo Mora crafted six bas-relief capitals for the tall pillars the main interior courtyard entrance to the Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas, California.  The sculpture depict scenes from early California history, featuring indigenous people, Mexican Californios, mission neophytes and fishermen. These sculptures were done with a grant from the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), in 1937. The building and its sculptures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 and renovated in 2018.

This 5' x 10' oil-on-canvas mural entitled “How Happy Was the Occasion” was painted by Mary M. Purser in 1939. Her husband, Stuart Purser, painted murals for the Carrolton, AL; Leland, MS; Ferriday & Gretna, LA post offices. "Mary May Purser was commissioned for $470 to create a mural for Clarksville, Arkansas on the basis of competent designs submitted in the Vicksburg, Post Office Competition. Purser visited Clarksville in search of appropriate subject matter and spoke with the local postmaster. The main source of information for the mural came from Ella Molloy Langford's book, History of Johnson County, Arkansas: The first...

The lobby of the historic post office building in Van Buren, Arkansas, possesses a 12' x 5' section oil-on-canvas mural entitled “The Chosen Site.” This mural was painted by E. Martin Hennings in 1940. From the University of Central Arkansas: “E. Martin Hennings was commissioned for $590 to create a mural for Van Buren, Arkansas as a result of an Honorable Mention in a Section of Fine Arts competition. Hennings used his wife and daughter as models for the women in the mural. He later reported that he had used a Mexican as a model for the father and had Americanized...

This 5' high black diorite sculpture "The Aztec" was carved by Donal Hord and his team in 1936, a project that took a year to complete.  The one-ton block of stone they sculpted was quarried locally from Escondido. Previously in front of Heppner Hall, it was moved from its original location to make way for the San Diego Trolley Project. It currently stands in the University's Prospective Student Center. From the San Diego Travel Tips website: "In 1936, San Diego sculptor Donal Hord was commissioned to carve a statue for the campus of San Diego State University. He completed the work,...

The New Deal mural “Volunteer Fire Department” was painted by Marion Gilmore in 1942. Gilmore also won the Forty-Eight States design competition of 1939 for her mural Band Concert," for the town of Corning, Iowa. From When Tillage Begins: The Stone City Art Colony and School: "A lifelong resident of Ottumwa, Iowa, Marion Gilmore... pursued art studies at the Art Students League and the Phoenix Art Institute, where she focused on commercial art. At the latter, Gilmore studied from 1931-32 under Norman Rockwell and other popular artists." (projects.mtmercy.edu)

This egg-tempera-on-gesso mural was painted by Marion Gilmore in 1941. From When Tillage Begins: The Stone City Art Colony and School: "Gilmore won the WPA commission to produce a mural for the town of Corning, Iowa. The jury, led by former Stone City faculty member Edward Rowan, demanded that Gilmore's image only contain actual architecture and landmarks in the downtown district. Her mural, 'Band Concert,' won the federal-sponsored Forty-Eight States design competition of 1939 and depicts a summer band concert in a small, Iowa community. Upon its completion, Rowan demanded that Gilmore remove two objects (a cannon and an obelisk) from...

Graham High School was constructed in 1939 by the CCC camp in Graham (Holub). Wiley G. Clarkson was the architect, and the school is listed as one of his accomplishments (Clarkson & Co.). Clarkson is documented as having been one of the leading architects in Texas who worked with the WPA (and presumably, other New Deal agencies as he worked throughout the 1930s). The cost of the building was placed at $289,000 by Clarkson. The school remains in use, although a new auditorium has been added to the rear of the school. The new additions are complimentary in design to...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a new city park for the small town of Darby, Montana in 1937-38. The park is next to the city hall and city museum on South Main Street.  It has been improved and well maintained over the years. On Google maps it is labeled as "Main City Park", but the sign at the park only says "City Park".  

"Milford Zornes (1908-2008), a California watercolor artist, is perhaps the most recognized artist of the early California style of watercolor painting. During the early 1930s Zornes worked for the federally funded Public Works of Art Project, producing watercolors to be displayed in public buildings."   (https://chaffeyart.wikispaces.com) The four watercolors shown here were all created for Chaffey College in 1934. Each is about 15" x 20". They are located on the main floor of the campus library.