Federal Arts Project (FAP) Sites

Federal Arts Project (FAP) artist Charles Kassler painted a 50-foot fresco, "Stampeding Buffalo" or "Bison Hunt" (1934), on the east wall of the Children's Court at the Los Angeles Central Library. Damaged by rain runoff over the years, the fresco was painted over in 1963. Kassler's extant FAP works around Los Angeles include a fresco, “Pastoral California” (1934), at Fullerton Union High School, and eight lunette frescoes (1936) at the former Beverly Hills Post Office (the current Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts).

The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency." While not confirmed, Michael Lenson purportedly painted a mural at Newark's Chancellor Avenue School: "nother Lenson mural might be hiding behind the wall paint in a windowless room at the Chancellor Avenue School in Newark. According to a retired teacher...

The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. By the time the federal W.P.A. closed in 1943, Mr. Lenson had created six murals and supervised the execution of 15 more in New Jersey by other artists. He also made one mural in West Virginia." "Three of Mr. Lenson's...

The original Children's Hospital opened in 1908, later merging with the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary (opened in 1890) and the Maine General Hospital (opened in 1874) to become Maine Medical Center. "WPA artists painted murals for two Portland hospitals - including a magnificent one in the children's hospital." According to the July 1940 Bridgton News, the artist on this project was Alton Skillin.  

Florian Durzynski painted two murals, "Stephen Foster" and "Frederic Chopin," for the Chopin School in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.

The school contains three WPA murals by Arthur Lidov depicting "Characters from Children's Literature." Medium: tempera on plaster on presswood Size: 3 semi-circular panels each about 3'2" r Restoration Info: Restored 1999

These two 50' x 45' low-relief polished marble mosaics depicting "Organic and Inorganic Science" by the Swiss-born artist Herman Volz are located in the south portico of San Francisco City College's Science Hall. Juan Breda served as assistant mosaicist for the project. The images represent fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics in tiny tiles. Text accompanying the mural reads 'Give me a base and I move the world.' Restored in 2005, the murals were originally part of the Golden Gate International Exhibition's "Art in Action" show on Treasure Island before they were moved to the college. "Completed on site,...

These two 12' x 8' tempera fresco murals painted by Frederick Olmsted reside in the front lobby of San Francisco City College's Science Building over the west entrance stairs. Two murals depict students engaged in scientific research. Muted earth tones and small brush strokes represent a range of endeavors in the sciences, such as viewing bacteria through a microscope, conducting field research, and excavating dinosaur remains. A restoration was completed in 2002 by CCSF faculty, staff, students, and an independent conservator, bringing these images close to their original state. (lisa velarde) Frederick Olmsted (April 10, 1911-February 14, 1990) was born in San Francisco....

"My mural will picture the fusion between the great past of the Latin American lands, as it is deeply rooted in the soil, and the high mechanical developments of the United States." - Diego Rivera This 22' by 74' fresco on panels was commissioned from the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera by the organizers of the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island.  Rivera and his crew completed the piece in four months.  Rivera's largest free-standing work, "Pan-American Unity" was the centerpiece of Art in Action, an innovative exhibit where fair-goers could watch artists create their work. After the fair...

This 10' x 27' fresco "The Blessings of Water" was painted by Edward Millman in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was restored in 1994.

In 1936, when Edward Millman was the state director of mural projects for the FAP, he was commissioned to convert a blank 400 square-foot wall in the City Hall offices of the former Bureau of Water (current Service Center) into a 10’ x 27’ fresco that would portray the importance of water in humanity. “The Blessings of Water” was completed in 1937. The right side of this narrative mural portrays the suffering caused by lack of water and the miserable rural setting caused by the Dust Bowl. On the contrary, the left side is a celebration of the life that...

Artist William H. Hoffmann painted two WPA oil on canvas murals in 1936 for what was then the Key West High School, then the Glynn Archer Elementary School and is now the new Key West City Hall. The murals were painted to adorn the auditorium stage. "The significance of the paintings -- one depicting the construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad Extension through the Keys, the other portraying the arrival of Spanish explorers on the "isle of bones" Cayo Hueso -- lies as much in the history of the pieces as in the art itself."   (https://keysnews.com/node/45502)      

In 1941, Frank Bowers and Arthur Prunier painted two murals at City Hall in South Gate, CA. The murals, which depict people involved in economic and leisure activities, were funded by the WPA's Federal Arts Project (FAP). Bowers and Prunier also collaborated on a FAP mural at the Ruth Home in El Monte, CA.

Two large petrachrome murals by Stanton Macdonald-Wright flank the entrance to Santa Monica City Hall. Each one is two-stories high and wraps around a corner of the lobby. The murals would have been funded by the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), since Macdonald-Wright was supervisor for the FAP's Southern California division from 1935 to 1943. Macdonald-Wright pioneered the petrachrome method, whereby a mural is painted with a liquid mixture of materials including crushed tile, marble and granite. The mural on the south side of the lobby is entitled "Recreation in Santa Monica" and represents popular spectator sports of the time, such as...

Philip Guston (born Philip Goldstein) and Reuben Kadish painted a large mural for the Los Angeles Tubercular Sanatorium in Duarte, CA, the site of today's City of Hope. Completed in 1936, the mural was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP). It is located in the Visitor Services Center. "This T-shaped painting surrounding a doorway includes more than 30 nude and semi-nude figures depicting the sweeping progression of human life. To the left is the energy and hopefulness of youth, while on the right the scenes are of decline and disappointment. Connecting the two sections is a group of figures over...

In 1936, Myer Shaffer painted a mural, "The Social Aspects of Tuberculosis," for the Los Angeles Tubercular Sanatorium in Duarte, CA, the site of today's City of Hope. The 7 by 18 foot mural received funding from the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), the American Artists' Congress, and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Shaffer was a 23-year-old student of Mexican social realist artist David Alfaro Siqueiros at the Chouinard Institute in Los Angeles, CA, when he was hired. "Unlike many WPA muralists who painted anonymous subjects or imagined suitable subject matter without doing the research to support their choices,...

Four WPA murals by Jefferson League show historical stages in the history of the neighborhood; the fifth is a map of the community at the turn of the century. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5 murals; 4 11' x 6'2", 1 7' x 6'2" Restoration Info: Restored 1999

The CCC-built administration building of the park contains two WPA murals "by Odon Hullenkremer, a Hungarian-bom artist who worked with the WPA Federal Art Project during the 1930s. The larger of the paintings, six feet by twelve feet, hangs on the north wall of the Visitor Center in the administration building and is called "Commencement of Main Dam Construction." The foreground of this painting depicts four surveyors with their instruments. The actual identities of the surveyors depicted have been verified by their descendents. In the background are depicted machines and men at work. The second Hullenkremer painting, "Conchas City, New...

One of the five restored Alice in Wonderland murals painted by Abram Champanier in 1938-40 is hung in the Cumberland Center at 100 N Portland Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205.  The mural was originally created for the Gouverneur Hospital children’s ward in lower Manhattan, but was neglected and then restored in the early 1990s. The mural is listed on the New York Health and Hospitals Corporation art collection website, dated 2006. The present status of the mural is unknown to us. A 1994 New York Times article on WPA murals in NYC notes it is in the E.R. of Coney Island Hospital.

These seven 6' x 9' relief panels are carved from Indiana limestone and were intended for the school library. "The Legend of California is a set of seven incised relief panels carved from Indiana limestone for the Library of the Coronado High School. Dedicated in February of 1941, the central panel depicts the mythical Amazonian Queen Calafia, after whom California was named. The side panels depict the various ethnic groups that have made up the population of the state. The Legend of California was executed under the sponsorship of the Federal Government Works Progress Administration." (https://content.cdlib.org)

This 59" high woven tapestry "Fruits of the Earth" was designed by Donal Hord, and woven by Marian Kendall, V. Kelley, and F. Manchester. It was created in 1939 with support from the WPA Federal Art Project. It originally hung at the San Diego Administration Center.

One of the five restored Alice in Wonderland murals painted by Abram Champanier in 1938-40 is hung in the Cumberland Center at 100 N Portland Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205.  The mural was originally created for the Gouverneur Hospital children's ward in lower Manhattan, but was neglected and then restored in the early 1990s. The mural is listed on the New York Health and Hospitals Corporation art collection website, dated 2006. The present status of the mural is unknown to us.

Petrachrome mural by Grace Clements. "Damien High is renovating their physical plant and the music building was one of the structures that needed some T.L.C. While removing the stucco that covered the building's facade the mural was uncovered. What the workers had found was Grace Clements' The Spirit of Music... This mural utilizes a technique called "petra-chrome," which was invented by Stanton Macdonald-Wright for the Federal Art Programs. It is concrete that is colored to create a permanent and weather resistant art work. It is a cousin of tile and opus sectile, but one that is more affordable and uniquely suited to...

Dana Middle School in San Pedro, CA, is home to two oil-on-canvas murals entitled "Life and Travels of Richard Henry Dana, Jr." The murals, by Adrien Machefert, were funded by the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP) in 1938. They hang on the north and south ends of the school's cafeteria and depict scenes of early San Pedro inspired by Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast," the account of an upper class New Englander's life as a seaman on a voyage to California in the 1830s.

The four-panel mural "Industry, Agriculture, Statesmanship, Commerce" was commissioned by the New Deal Federal Art Project. The mural, installed in the entry lobby of the historic Davidson County Courthouse, is still visible today.  

The third-floor hallway at DeWitt Clinton High School contains two huge New Deal murals by Alfred Floegel, The History of the World (walls) and Constellations (ceiling). The oil on canvas murals were painted in 1934-1940. The History of the World is 5 feet 4 inches high and 194 feet long. Floegel worked on the Clinton High School murals from 1934 to 1940. In the wall mural, different eras of world history are represented in sequence, starting at the rear, proceeding up the right wall, then crossing over and proceeding down the left wall. The ceiling is uniformly done in blue and gold,...

The school contains a WPA mural "Winter and Spring" by Mary C. Hague. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 2 panels, each 12' x 10'

The New Deal mural "Fairy Tale Scenes," painted by Carrie Hill, was commissioned by the Federal Art Project. The work, which is installed in the children's room at Birmingham's East Lake Branch Library, was restored in 1993.

Artist Caspar Duchow created four 4' x 6' mosaics depicting animals for the East Whittier Middle School: "Hippos," "Waterfowl," "Tropical Birds" and "Monkey." The mosaics were created in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.

Eastern New Mexico University saw great improvements resulting from the efforts and funding of multiple New Deal programs. The campus is home to several outstanding New Deal buildings and artworks.

This statue, entitled "Nuestra Reina de los Angeles" ("Our Queen of the Angels") but known colloquially as "The Lady of the Lake," was made in 1934 by Ada May Sharpless with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Rendered in poured concrete, it stands 14' tall at the north end of the lake on a small peninsula. The damaged statue was put into storage on site in 1986, and after restoration reinstalled in 1999.

Artist Lorser Feitelson painted a mural in three panels at Edison Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "The central panel pictures the great inventor and some of his contributions. On the left are Edison's predecessors, Farraday , Henry, and Maxwell, and their original instruments, together with an allegory showing the genii of the new knowledge, aroused to create the electrification of the modern world. On the right are the developments growing out of Edison's electrical improvements and the men who contributed to the conquest of time and space in the long-distance...

Stanton Macdonald-Wright designed the mosaic "Early (Spanish) California" for Edison Middle School in Los Angeles, CA, in 1937. It was funded by the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP) and hangs in the school auditorium's foyer. Albert King likely executed the tile work. The mosaic depicts vaqueros wrangling cows, miners panning for gold, and workers building a railroad. A “Californio” couple stands in the center of the image. Tiles of different shapes give the mosaic a variety of textures. 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...

"The Art Gallery, also on the second floor" of the main branch of the Erie Public Library housed, among other works, "Two interesting paintings by Harry Klopp, done under the WPA Federal Art Project, are Robin Hood and The Pied Piper of Hamlin." The library has since relocated, and the current status of the paintings is unknown to Living New Deal.

The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. ..." "Three of Mr. Lenson's New Jersey murals still exist, all in Newark... The three other New Jersey murals are gone. ''The History of New Jersey,'' a 16-by-75-foot mural for the dining room at the Essex Mountain Sanatorium in...

An enormous mural called The Evolution of Western Civilization is located in the library of the former Evander Childs High School. The Federal Arts Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned the mural cycle in 1935 and it was completed in 1938. It is true fresco, rather than a painting, and covers 1,400 square feet.   (https://newdeal.feri.org) A film made by the WPA depicts the creation of the mural by artist James Michael Newell, aided by students at the high school. It can be viewed on the Living New Deal video page. The murals have generated significant controversy over the years, as discussed in...

In 1937 Romuald Kraus completed this sculpture entitled "Alma Mater" for Evander Childs High School with funding from the WPA's Federal Art Project (Archives of American Art).

In 1939, Rex Sorenson sculpted two 12-foot stone sculptures of Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington for Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, CA. Each was mounted on a three-to-four foot pedestal. Both sculptures were subsequently destroyed.

This 11'5" x 11'2" mural "Landscape With Children" was painted by Florian Durzynski under the auspices of the WPA's Federal Art Project.

John Palo-Kangas created a 14-foot concrete sculpture of Father Junipero Serra in 1937 for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The sculpture stood for more than 50 years until it was replaced in 1989. Wilbur Robottom created a 3,000-pound bronze copy to take the place of the decaying concrete original. Originally located in a place of prominence in park triangle in front of Ventura's city hall, the statue was removed in July 2020 and placed by the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in downtown Ventura in February 2024. It is located by the southeast corner of the elementary...