Federal Arts Project (FAP) Sites

The Sandersville high/elementary school was constructed by the PWA in 1939. The red brick building with a Georgian-Colonial facade was built on one level in the shape of an E. The high school was on the east side and the elementary school on the west, with the Administrative office, library, commercial and home economics rooms in the middle front. The 600 seat auditorium, music and expression rooms were in the center arm of the E. A small lunch room was built behind the auditorium. A newspaper article indicates the school district filed an application with the government for a grant...

The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned bas-relief sculptures by Elliot Franz Sandow (1910-1976) at the Orinda Water Treatment Plant, part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). They decorate an overflow weir at the plant.  Labor and materials for the project cost $1360. The artist completed similar bas-relief panels for the Labor Temple and Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland. The sculptures remain in fine condition and are available for public viewing at the Orinda plant.

Campbell Grant was hired by the WPA in 1934 to paint two murals for Santa Barbara High School: "North America" and "South America." The murals went up in the administrative lobby and have recently been restored. Campbell Grant was the brother of Gordon K. Grant, another active New Deal artist.

Two 25' x 8' oil on canvas lunettes by Samuel Vaughan were commissioned by the Federal Art Project: "Men at Work" and "US Army in Europe"

Originally painted for Santa Monica High School's library in 1935—likely under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP)—Conrad Buff's mural "Westward II" was being stored in Barnum Hall as of 2018.

In 1937, Grace Clements adorned a 30-foot curved bench at Santa Monica High School with petrachrome mosaics depicting ocean life. Created under the auspices of the WPA Federal Arts Project (FAP), "Senior Bench" is located in a landscaped area south of the Greek Amphitheater. Clements used the petrachrome method "whereby tinted cement mortar mixed with crushed rock, glass, or tile is applied to the mural surface, with different colored sections delineated by strips of brass. Once hardened, the cement is polished to create a bold, striking appearance. This method was developed by Santa Monica artist Stanton Macdonald-Wright while he was serving...

This 4' by 3' cast stone relief entitled "Comedy, Tragedy, Music" was produced by Olinka Hrdy in 1937 with Federal Art Project (FAP) funds. It is located on the primary (east) façade of Barnum Hall and depicts stylized Greek comedy and tragedy masks as well as musical instruments. According to a 2018 Historic Resources Group report, "some sources credit this piece to Ella Buchanan and Stefan de Vriendt, but this appears to be erroneous" (p. 24).

A 5x5-foot carved wood bas-relief depicting four "Workers" is located in the library over the circulation desk. It was produced in 1937 with Federal Art Project (FAP) funds. The artist is unknown. "Research suggests that the art piece was salvaged around 1970, when the library was relocated from the English Building to the Language Building and the original library space was converted to classrooms" (HRG Report, p. 89).

Artist Stanton Macdonald-Wright designed two murals for Barnum Hall Theater at Santa Monica High School. The works were funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). In 1938, Macdonald-Wright completed a mural titled "Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla" upon Barnum Hall's asbestos stage curtain. The following year, he completed an 8x8-foot mosaic titled "Landing of the Vikings in Vinland" in the theater's foyer. Macdonald-Wright was supervisor for the Southern California division of the FAP from 1935 to 1943. He is considered "an important proponent of the nonrepresentational styles of art on the New Deal projects" (Kalfatovic, p. 370). His other New Deal–funded...

Several New Deal art works grace the Santa Monica high school campus, including a 7-foot-high cast stone sculpture titled "The Viking." Located on the patio between the Art and History buildings, the sculpture was created by John Palo-Kangas in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP). "The sculpture is set upon a rectangular concrete basin which has been capped. The backdrop for the sculpture is composed of patterned blocks with a stylized wave design"—blocks which "also appear in the foyer of Barnum Hall and around the main entrance of the History Building" (HRG Report, p. 24).

The petrachrome murals "Santa Paula" and "Youth" were created by Buckley MacGurrin with WPA Federal Art Project (FAP) funds for Santa Paula High School in Santa Paula, CA. MacGurrin also painted a pair of FAP murals for the former Hall of Records in Los Angeles, CA, which was demolished in 1971. The status of these murals is unknown.

The five panels of this mural depicting the "History of Chicago" are titled: "Father Marquette," "Fort Dearborn," "Great Chicago Fire of 1871," "World's Columbian Exposition of 1893," and "Century of Progress World's Fair of 1933." They were painted by Lucile Ward in 1940 with funds from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1997.  

George Melville Smith painted two 9' x 9' murals for the Schubert School: "The Life of Franz Schubert" and "The Hurricane." They were painted in 1938 with WPA Federal Art Project funds.

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 early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the Federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c. 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. During that period, a distinction was made between Silver Falls Park, which was accessible to the public, and the area designated as the Silver Creek Recreation Development Area (RDA), which was a special federal program designed to allow urban...

The Smithsonian American Art Museum contains hundreds of New Deal artworks.  Some are on permanent display, many are not. Of those, some are brought out for specific exhibitions from time to time. One permanent display on New Deal art features Eugenie Gershoy's sculptures, "Goddess of Fertility" and New Deal artists at work.  There is a nice plaque acknowledging the Public Works of Art Project and the Federal Arts Project and the thousands of artworks produced under those New Deal arts programs.

Four striking limestone sculptures were created by Walker Hancock as part of a Federal Art Project Commission. The work, “Courage, Vision, Sacrifice, Loyalty” was installed around the entrances to St. Louis's historic Soldiers' Memorial in 1939. UMSL.edu: "Walker Hancock, a St. Louis native, created the beautiful statues that adorn both entrances to the Soldiers Memorial. Hancock attended Washington Universtiy, where he studied under Victor Holm. He was not the first choice to create the statues, but when the first artist could not fulfill the obligation, Hancock was next in line. The statues were created during the heart of the depression and a New...

These tempera murals depicting the "History of Printing Through the Ages" were created by Suzanne Miller with FAP funds. There were originally five panels in this series; two have been destroyed, but the murals depicting the history of printing in China, Egypt, and "Modern" times remain.

Sculptor Merrell Gage created a three-panel bas relief above the entrance to the South Pasadena High School Auditorium in South Pasadena, CA, likely with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funding. Gage, an instructor at the University of Southern California and at the Chouinard Art Institute, served as judge for the FAP. His own New Deal–funded works in the region include a frieze and free-standing pylon at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA.

Artist Jason Herron sculpted "Erda" (1936) for South Pasadena High School in South Pasadena, CA, with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funds. The sculpture was painted terracotta. Los Angeles Public Library lists the sculpture as missing. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Jason Herron is a young lady whose art study has included work under Merrill Gage at USC, Chamberlain in Pasadena, and one year of study at various places in Europe" (Wells, p. 25). Herron's extant New Deal–funded works in Los Angeles, CA, include the Power of Water Fountain (1935) at Lafayette Park and a sculpture at...

In 1937, P. G. Napolitano completed a mural at South Pasadena Junior High School (today's South Pasadena Middle School) in South Pasadena, CA. Located in the school's music room, the mural received funding from the Federal Art Project (FAP). “Mr. Napolitano’s main interest has always been in murals, which he executes in tempra (egg white), in frescoes, and in Sgraffito which he introduced here in creative work. Much of his work is marked by the omission of pretty detail and mere decorativeness until only the essential stand out; economy of line, rhythm, and strength are the three uppermost qualities” (Wells,...

The South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC) located at 3831 South Michigan Avenue on the South Side of Chicago, provided a permanent space for the creation and preservation of artwork made by African American artists from the surrounding community. The SSCAC is one of two WPA funded Art Centers that has never closed its doors, and is also the earliest African American Art Center to be created in the United States. The federal government primarily funded the project, but it was financial support from the African American community that made the idea of an Art Center a reality. According to the...

In 1938 Carl E. Noble completed six oil-on-canvas murals depicting the history of firefighting for the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department’s Southside Hose Co. No. 2. The murals wrap around the company's second-floor meeting room. Noble painted the murals for the Hempstead Fire Department under the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The titles of the six murals are: Pioneer Fire Fighting, Old Time Fire Gong, First Hempstead Hose Cart, Hempstead Riding Academy Fire, and Modern Fire Fighting Equipment (2 murals). The murals, while not generally accessible to the public, are still intact. The Long Island Historical Journal recounts...

This 14-foot-tall stainless steel and granite sculpture of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Chinese Republic, was sculpted by Beniamino Bufano and completed in 1937 with FAP funds.  "Revered as the 'Father of Modern China,' Sun Yat-sen visited San Francisco in the early 1900s and often relaxed in St. Mary's Square." (Guide.)  

This WPA sculpture "Bear and Head" by Beniamino Bufano was created in 1935 and placed here in 1945. It measures 5'4" long and 3' wide, and is carved from black granite.

"Wyoming schools also benefited from the WPA Federal Art Project , which was responsible for a number of murals painted inside the buildings. Although the list of school murals is incomplete, it includes ... four panels in the Rock Springs High School library by Minerva Teichert of Cokeville ..." "The Rock Springs panels were removed from the Rock Springs High School and reinstalled in the Sweetwater County School District #1 Central Administration Building in Rock Springs."

The Works Progress Administration commissioned the modernist mural in 1937 for the PWA-funded Williamsburg Housing Project in Brooklyn, New York. Only five of the murals planned for the International Style development were ever installed. Rediscovered in the 1980's after being painted over, the five installed murals were restored and are now on loan to the Brooklyn Museum. Swing Landscape was never installed at the Williamsburg Houses and has been at the IU Art Museum (now the Sidney and Lois Eskanazi Museum of Art) since 1942. A seventh mural, Sixth Avenue El, by Francis Criss also was never installed at Williamsburg...

A 38' x 8' oil on canvas depicting a farm nestled in the Marin hills, "The Golden Hills of Marin" was painted by Maurice del Mue with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The mural "was removed from the wall of the high school library in the 1960s and rolled up face-in, causing extensive damage and compression cracks." However a major restoration effort recently returned the mural to its rightful place.

The seven murals on display in the Airside E Terminal of the Tampa International Airport were commissioned from artist George Snow Hill in 1939 under New Deal sponsorship: "In the late 1930's, local artist George Snow Hill was commissioned to create these murals to adorn the walls of Tampa's newly built Peter O. Knight Airport. Hill artistically interpreted the history of flight through the contributions made by Icarus and Daedalus, Archimedes, The Montgolfier Brothers, Otto Lilienthal, Tony Jannus, The Wright Brothers, and a triptych, capturing the first scheduled airline flight in history. The murals were removed from the walls of the Peter...

A set of four murals, “History of the Printed Word”, was painted by local artist Robert Martin and unveiled in 1937. The murals were funded by the WPA’s Federal Art Project. "The four oil-painted canvas murals are attached to the walls and depict monks lettering parchments, men working on an early printing press, bookbinders in the 18th century and a (then) contemporary newspaper press" (Teaneck Virtual Library).

The mural entitled "Scenes from Tennessee History," made up of 11 panels, was painted by Jihayr Zorthian.  It can be found in the Governor's Reception Hall in the Tennessee State Capitol.  The Federal Art Project (FAP) commissioned the work.

Three murals were commissioned for Tewksbury Hospital by the Federal Art Project. The works presented scenes related to the heritage of the area, and were created by: Maurice Compris (looms); Samuel F. Hershey (quarries and factory work); and W. Lester Stevens (farm work, boat building, and fishing).

Nassau County's Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building houses a set of four murals created as a New Deal project. They are located above the staircases, at the second floor of the building's rotunda. Created by Robert Gaston Herbert, these Federal Art Project-funded murals depict "important events in Nassau County's history," and were restored in 2007. Mural descriptions: Gov. Theodore Roosevelt laying the corner-stone of the Nassau Co. Court-house, July 13th, 1900. The Youngs Mansion, Oyster Bay, built in 1652 by Thomas Youngs. George Washington honored the house with an over-night visit in 1790. New York's counties were created in 1683 by Gov....

Modernization efforts conducted on Theodore Roosevelt High School in 2013 uncovered two 1934 frescoes by Nelson Rosenberg and students at the school, entitled "Adolescent America" and "American Panorama."  Rosenberg was funded under the Public Works of Art Project, which gave commissions to unemployed artists in the Great Depression. The frescoes were restored and are apparently now on display in the cafeteria. The school itself was built 1930-1932, before the New Deal began.

In 1937, Ross Dickinson painted "History of the Recorded Word" in the Thomas Jefferson High School library (Los Angeles, CA) with Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Arts Project funding. The mural is comprised of four panels, each 10' by 5.5'. The panels depict the history of printing, with subjects including hieroglyphs, manuscripts, and modern printing. After six months of research, Dickinson painted the mural in five weeks. According to the Los Angeles Sentinel (one of the most influential African-American newspapers in the Western United States), "Dickinson was employed as an art teacher at the Art Center School of Los Angeles and needed...

Artist Ross Dickinson designed two tile mosaics for Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The mosaics "give glimpses of Indian pueblo life, one showing the influence of the crafts taught by the mission fathers" (Wells, p. 23). According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "The greatest single patron of Federal art among the schools of the Los Angeles system is Thomas Start King Junior High School, whose principal is Dr. Alice Ball Struthers. The possessions of that school could well serve as a model and be...

This sculpture by Djey el Djey, entitled "The Vanquished Race" (or "The Vanishing Race"), was commissioned by the WPA's Federal Arts Project (FAP) in 1936. It is located at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. "Mr. Djey el Djey is an earnest young man, justly proud of this, his first real successful piece," noted a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal. "'Vanquished Race' was of such merit that it was featured as the cover picture of an issue of the no New York magazine Art Digest. It was also reproduced in the London 'Studio' line with...

Artist P. G. Napolitano painted a pair of murals, titled "Spirit of the Fiesta," at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. The two 9' by 12' panels—featuring a male and female figure—are located above the north court balcony. Napolitano received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Mr. Napolitano's main interest has always been in murals, which he executes in tempra (egg white), in frescoes, and in Sgraffito which he introduced here in creative work. Much of his work is marked by the omission of pretty detail and mere decorativeness until only the essential stand out; economy...

Artist James Redmond painted a small mural, titled "California Horsemen," at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Redmond reportedly preferred "California Horsemen" to the large mural he painted at Banning High School in Los Angeles, CA (Wells, p. 21). His other New Deal–funded works in the region include a post office mural in Compton, CA. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "The greatest single patron of Federal art among the schools of the Los Angeles system is Thomas Start King Junior High School, whose principal...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...