Art Works Sites

Under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), artist Eugenia Everett sculpted a statue for Fries Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. The sculpture is of "Wynken, Blinken, and Nod," characters in Eugene Field's Dutch lullaby. George Washington Preparatory High School (Los Angeles, CA) has a copy of the same statue. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Eugenia Everett is a wistful young lady, working in her aunt's studio on Manhattan Place" (Wells, p. 25).

In 1941, the Federal Arts Project (FAP) commissioned prominent artist, Helen Lundeberg, to paint a 3-wall mural that covers 900 sq. ft. at the Old Fullerton City Hall in Fullerton, California. In addition to working on several New Deal art projects, she helped to found the Post-Surrealist art movement.  The mural she painted in the Old Fullerton City Hall is named The History of Southern California. It depicts California's history from the landing of Juan Cabrillo in the 1500s through the development of the movie industry in the Twentieth Century. Similar to many other murals painted in this era it was...

Charles Kassler painted Pastoral California at Fullerton Union High School in 1934. He received funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Located in the Louis Plummer Auditorium (built in 1930), the mural is 75′ x 15′. It was the first of three public artworks funded by the New Deal in Fullerton, California. Pastoral California is one of the largest frescoes created during the New Deal. Kassler first drafted the mural design on paper and then transferred this draft, one 36 inch square, at a time onto the wall to be traced. The mural was then painted in true fresco...

The statue "Father Garces" is State Historical Landmark No. 277. From the LA Times, 7 May 1939, "Indians will unveil, a right reverend monsignor will bless, the statue of Padre Garces at Bakersfield, 2 p.m. today. Made by John Palo-Kangas on the Federal Art Project, it is State Historical Landmark Reg. No. 277, and represents the first white man to enter the Kern region. A Garces Memorial Committee made possible the statue and will conduct today's elaborate program." The sculpture is carved from Indiana limestones on a Carnelian granite base. The figure of Garces itself is 16'4" and with the base, the...

This courthouse contains a series of oil murals depicting the region in the 19th century. The murals were painted by Ruth Monro Augur under the auspices of the WPAs Federal Art Program: "Ruth Munro Augur, nationally known muralist, was forced on WPA rolls during the Depression because her commissions fell off so badly. She worked for $57.50 a month while painting the murals. She officially began on Dec. 1, 1935, but a great deal of tedious research was necessary before the artist could begin to apply paint to the canvas. Every detail had to be correct and the artist was handicapped by...

The Gary School contains a WPA mural by Roberta Elvis depicting fairy tale characters. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5' h x 21' w Restoration Info: Restored 2001

"This monumental bronze portrait bust, dedicated in 1893, depicts Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–1886), and was created by American sculptor James Wilson Alexander MacDonald (1824–1908)." (www.nycgovparks.org) In the 1930s, the bust was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department, from 1934 to 1937." The program was initially supported by federal funding from the Public Works of Art Project (Lowrey, 2008), and later by the WPA.

The General Services Administration's former Regional National Capital Office in Washington DC is graced by a magnificent set of murals by Harold Weston commissioned under the New Deal. The building was originally the headquarters of the Treasury Department’s Procurement Division. In 1936, Harold Weston was employed by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) to paint 22 murals inside the main lobby area at the 7th street entrance.  The murals depict construction-related activities carried out by the Procurement Division and the private construction firms it contracted with.  The 1942 WPA Guide to Washington DC says:  "In the main lobby, 7th Street entrance, murals illustrate...

Elise Seeds painted a mural, "Prehistoric Animals," for a school in Los Angeles, CA, with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon the termination of the PWAP in 1934—the Federal and State Emergency Relief Administrations (FERA/SERA). The mural was subsequently relocated to the George Page Museum. Elise Seeds' other New Deal work in the region is a mural, "Air Mail," at the post office in Oceanside, CA.

Lucienne Bloch's mural, "The Evolution of Music", encircles the upper wall of the old music classroom at the former George Washington High School.  As the NY Public Schools Public Art for Public Schools website states: "Among New Deal New York City public school murals, the most outstanding example by a female artist is Lucienne Bloch’s The Evolution of Music, painted in a former high school music room. Bloch was one of the few WPA/FAP artists who had prior training painting murals, and she was well suited to her assignment at George Washington High School.  She had already successfully completed one WPA/FAP fresco...

  Victor Arnautoff's fresco entitled "Life of Washington" consists of thirteen panels and totals 1600 square feet. It was produced with the assistance of FAP funds.  

This project was originally assigned to Beniamino Bufano, but was awarded to Johnson instead when the WPA fired Bufano. This 1942 frieze entitled "Athletics" covers the back wall of the football field and still stands today. Supposedly, “WPA officials objected to the political content in Bufano’s design and assigned Johnson to take over the project. According to Richard McKinzie, Bufano was fired when WPA officials learned that he had used the Marxist labor leader, Harry Bridges, as a model for the frieze.” The circumstances surrounding this conflict ended a long friendship between the two artists. -Found SF

This 5'6" x 27' fresco mural "Advancement of Learning Through the Printing Press" by Lucien Labaudt was completed in 1936 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.

This 4' x 10' fresco mural "Modern and Ancient Science" by Gordon Langdon depicts the physicist Robert A. Milliken. It is located near the entrance to the library at Washington High School.  

Ralph Stackpole's 5'6" x 27' fresco "Contemporary Education" in the Washington High School library was completed in 1936 with FAP funds.

Artist Ross Dickinson painted two murals for George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA. "Valley of California" (25' x 7') is located at the north end of the school library; "Mankind's Achievements" is on the landing of the main stairs (Wells, p. 21). Both were completed in 1934 and funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Dickinson's other New Deal–funded works in the region include a mural, “History of the Recorded Word” (1937), in the Thomas Jefferson High School library (Los Angeles, CA).

Presumably under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), artist Eugenia Everett created a bust made of Belgian black marble depicting a woman with her hair gathered at the back of her neck. It is now located in the library at George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, “Eugenia Everett is a wistful young lady, working in her aunt’s studio on Manhattan Place” (Wells, p. 25). Everett also created sculptures for Brockton Avenue School and Fries Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA.

Under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), artist Eugenia Everett sculpted for Brockton Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA, a statue now located at George Washington Preparatory High School. The sculpture is of "Wynken, Blinken, and Nod," characters in Eugene Field's Dutch lullaby. Fries Avenue Elementary School (Los Angeles, CA), has a copy of the same statue. According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Eugenia Everett is a wistful young lady, working in her aunt's studio on Manhattan Place" (Wells, p. 25).

Helen Lundeberg, assisted by Donald Totten, painted a two-panel mural at George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA. The panels, titled "Valley Forge, 1777" and "Yorktown, 1781," are located in the auditorium's interior foyer. Completed in 1941, the mural was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP). "Valley Forge, 1777" depicts George Washington against a snowy background as he assists a fallen soldier towards a fire. "Yorktown, 1781" depicts George Washington standing before a church with a pen in his right hand and a sword in his left. Both murals are made of plaster and petrochrome and feature the...

Artist Barse Miller painted a set of four frescoes at George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA. The frescoes—located over four entrances, including that to the auditorium—were funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Barse Miller was a teacher at The ArtCenter School in Los Angeles. His other New Deal–funded works in the region include a mural, “People of Burbank” (1940), at the Downtown Station Post Office in Burbank, CA.

In 1936, the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) hired Roswell, New Mexico resident Georgia B. Redfield, an unemployed writer of local history, to collect stories and facts on her community. Like thousands of writers, editors, researchers and clerical workers on relief during the Great Depression, Redfield performed hours of spadework to fill a few pages of a state WPA guide. Georgia Brigham Redfield (1877-1956) moved from Louisiana to Roswell in its pioneering days. She had published a book, “Our Mammy, Her Songs” in 1934. Working for the FWP, Redfield roamed Roswell, gathering stories on ethnic groups and pioneers, floods and fires, the town’s...

Caroline Speare Rohland completed this 5' x 13' mural, entitled "Spring," in 1941 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project (WPA-FAP). "The mural was originally in the Sylvania GA post office. It was removed in 1980 and rolled up in a closet until 1995. Removed in 1980. Now on indefinite loan to the Georgia Southern University Museum. Restored 1995 by the artist Jared Fogel and Charles Martin of Statesboro GA." (newdealartregistry.org)    

Archibald Garner sculpted "Youth in Agriculture" of granite for Glendale Community College in Glendale, CA, with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funding. Los Angeles Public Library has listed the sculpture as missing. Garner's extant New Deal–funded works in the region include a sculpture, "Law" (1941), at the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles, CA; the Copernicus figure found in the Astronomers Monument (1934) at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, CA; and, in Inglewood, CA, the water fountain at Edward Vincent Jr. Park as well as a mahogany bas relief, "Centinella Springs" (1937), at the post office.

This Glendale Junior College fountain "Memorial to C.A. Nelson" is by Robert Boag. Created out of small tiles, it is about five feet tall and has three tiers. The bottom shows an ocean scene, the middle prehistoric villagers, and the eight-sided top shows birds in flight.

Petrachrome table and benches at Glendale Junior College. Round table and benches by Jane Mussy. Straight memorial bench artist unknown.

Though there is some uncertainly about the artist and original location of this mural, it was painted with the help of FAP funds.  

Frederick Mulhaupt painted "DeChamplain Surveys Le Beauport" and "Landing of Dorchester Colonists--1623" in 1936 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The murals were originally installed at the old Central Grammar School.  

Gloucester City Hall contains several paintings by Charles Allan Winter. "The Founding of Gloucester" was painted in 1934, with funding from an unknown federal agency. "Education" was painted in 1935 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It was originally installed at the old Central Grammar School. In 1939, Charles Allan Winter also painted three WPA murals in the main lobby: "“City Council in Session” fills the space above the collector’s windows (approximately 7 feet high by 11 feet wide). “City Government” covers the opposite wall. Tucked in and around the arch-topped lunettes, the two-part mural, “Civic Virtues,” spreads across the two...

Two bas-relief concrete sculptures by Jesse S. "Vet" Anderson (1875-1966), overlooking the WPA funded Golden Gate Park Horseshoe Pits.

4' high sculpture of a "Young Girl" by Jack Moxom funded by the WPA Federal Art Project. Located west of the Sharon Art Studio along the path to Junior Drive. It is part of the Sara S. Cooper Memorial.

This public outdoor sculpture "Penguin's Prayer" of three penguins is situated in the Golden Gateway Center at the intersection of Davis Street and Jackson Street in San Francisco, CA. It was created by Beniamino Bufano with WPA funding. The three penguins are all carved out of the same porphyry granite. The larger penguin is looking skyward behind the two smaller penguins that face each other. The sculpture was originally made for the Treasure Island Golden Gate Exposition of 1939.

In addition to "Science," a large New Deal mural, ENMU's Golden library is the home of several smaller commissioned ("portable") examples of New Deal paintings, including: Gene Kloss: "Penitente Friday" and "Acoma" Stuart Walker: "Black and White Sawmill" and "Abstract" Cady Wells: "Mesas" (which may not be New Deal-sponsored) Brooks Willis: "Sawmill" According to Flynn, the ENMU’s Department of Music Building had housed these examples of New Deal oil paintings. They, too, were more recently housed at Golden Library. Three oil paintings done around 1934 by Nils Hogner grace the walls of the staff lounge. They are colorful Navajo Indian scenes. We understand that one has disappeared....

The abstract mural titled "Science," by Raymond Jonson, was funded by the WPA's Federal Art Project. It is in ENMU's Golden Library. Nearby, the university's administration building houses this mural's twin, titled "Art". Flynn: They were planned as a pair, with the aim of serving as spiritual stimuli for the students. Regarding these panels, Jonson wrote in 1937: "My desire is to have a fine quality in these works based on, as a starting point, "Art" and "Science." One panel will place the emphasis on Art—the other on Science (note: my aim is to develop a series of rhythms and forms that can function as...

Then known as the Welfare Hospital for Chronic Disease, this hospital on New York's Roosevelt Island opened in 1939. The hospital soon received three rare 7 x 50 foot WPA murals by Ilya Bolotowsky (1907-1981), Joseph Rugolo (1911-1983) and Albert Swinden (1901-1961). "The murals must have caused a sensation in the early 1940s, when they were installed in the patients’ circular day rooms by the federal Work Projects Administration. Not your standard W.P.A. social-realist allegories, these were works of almost pure, jazzlike abstraction, bold fields of color that barely suggested any literal imagery."   (nytimes.com) At some point in the following years, all three...

"Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks...Gordon Park."

Four 6' x 10' murals depicting "Earth," "Air," "Water" and "Fire" by Ralf Henricksen were completed in 1936 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. They were restored in 2003-2004.  

In 1936, Abram Champanier painted a large, multi-panel mural, entitled "Alice in Wonderland," in the children's ward of the old Gouverneur Hospital on Water Street, with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The oil-on-canvas murals were all seven feet high, of varying widths, with subjects such as, "Alice Steps Out of a Book," "Alice Flies Over the East River Bridges" and "Alice and Her Friends in the Subway," with imaginative images in the social-realist style. Unfortunately, "the murals were left behind, exposed to rain and other infelicities, when the hospital was abandoned in 1961. Nearly two decades later, the building was sold, and demolition threatened. On the...

U.S. Government Publishing Office Warehouse (also known as Building No. 4) is graced on the exterior by four bas-relief sculptures commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  The original name of this office complex was the US Government Printing Office, but it was changed in 2014. Two printing press worker sculptures were created in 1937 by Elliot Means (1904-1962).  After the 1930s, Means went on to become a successful artist, “known as a maker of bas-reliefs and painter of southwestern scenes” (Albuquerque Journal, 1962). The two eagle sculptures were done by Armin Scheler (1901-1987) in 1937.  After his New Deal artwork,...

Located in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau, the Governor’s Totem Pole was commissioned by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was carved between 1939-1940. Charlie Tagook, a Tlingit carver from Klukwan, began the work, and William N. Brown, a Tlingit and head carver from Saxman, finished it. The totem stands at 31’-6” tall, and is carved on a yellow cedar log. The seven figures represented on it illustrate Tlingit legends. “Figure one on top is Raven and in descending order are Grandfather Raven, Man, Giant Cannibal, Mosquito, The World, and Old Woman Underneath,” reports Klas Stolpe in the Juneau...

In addition to WPA improvements made around Governors Island, "a mural in the Administration Building, depicting scenes from six American wars, was painted by artists of the Federal Art Project." The Administration Building is better known today as Pershing Hall. The Governors Island Blog states: "Pershing Hall benefited from a FAP commission to Tom Loftin Johnson for murals to adorn its principal hallways. Johnson’s 90 foot mural in Pershing Hall depicts American military history. A close look at these detailed murals reveals many notable national characters, some with particular connections to Governors Island."