Art Works Sites

Belle Baranceanu was painted two oil on canvas murals at Balboa Park in 1935, paid for with federal funding:  "Progress of Man" and “Education and Culture”.  She rushed to complete the later for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition and would later claim that she could not stand to look at it. These are the only two of her murals to survive in their original location.

Rose Hanks created this incised plaster relief depicting "Junipero Serra" for the fair.

This 4' high Indiana limestone sculpture and fountain by Donal Hord is titled "Woman of Tehuantepec" and is located in the courtyard of the House of Hospitality at San Diego's Balboa Park.

The Public Works of Art Project funded the painting of the Banning High School Mural in Banning CA. The 65-feet long mural depicts scenes from Banning's history, showing its farming and mining legacy. The mural is titled "The Drama of Banning" and was painted by Pauline French (née Hirst). The artist lived in Riverside when she painted the mural. The second name signed on the mural is Edwin Frank, who might have been French's assistant, according to The Press Enterprise. Arthur Cain also worked on the mural with Hirst. The three artists enlisted Rex Brandt's help with painting the locomotive. Stanton McDonald Wright and Lorsen...

A portion of Lynn Fausett's  Barrier Canyon mural hangs in the Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University Eastern. It is part of an enormous, 82-foot canvas painting done by Fausett in 1940 under the auspices of the Works Projects Administration (WPA) Arts Project (WPAAP). The segment of the mural on display in the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum is the smaller of two (12 x 22 ft.) and depicts approximately the left hand one-fourth of the Great Gallery. The larger section of the mural hangs in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.    The mural...

The largest portion of Lynn Fausett's WPA-funded Barrier Canyon mural hangs at the back of the entry hall of the University of Utah Museum of Natural History at the eastern flank of the University of Utah campus (a smaller portion hangs in the Natural History Museum in Price, Utah). The canvas mural measures 12 x 60 feet and depicts ancient native pictographs/petroglyphs that Fausett had observed at the Great Gallery in Canyonlands National Monument (now a National Park), in what is known as the "Barrier Canyon Rock Art" style.   The mural was originally painted to be hung at the Museum of Modern...

Marion Sanford completed this plaster bas relief, entitled "Weighing Cotton," in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in what was originally the Winder post office. It is viewable in the Exhibit Room of the Barrow County Museum.

This carving of two 3' x 5' wood panels was created with the help of New Deal funds.

This 30' x 40' mural was painted with the help of New Deal funds.

This 7'11" x 11'6" mural "Characters from Children's Literature" was painted by Roberta Elvis with WPA Federal Art Project funds.

This 14' x 4' wood carving was produced with the help of New Deal funds.

This building was originally the Textile High School, then the Straubenmuller Textile High School, then the Charles Evans Hughes High School, before eventually assuming its current title as the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex. It is now an NYC "vertical campus" housing several smaller schools. In addition to a pair of stained glass windows by Gerard Recke, the building contains several large WPA Federal Arts Project murals created by various New Deal artists in 1934-36. In a 1965 oral history, New Deal artist Irving Block said of the high school that "there were many rooms available to us for decoration." In the same...

The historic Baytown Historical Museum building (formerly Federal Building / post office) houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Texas," a fresco mural by Barse Miller. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was restored in 2011 at a cost of $14,000.

This 1940 oil-on-canvas mural by George Goethke covers all 4 walls of the kindergarten room of Baywood Elementary School (formerly the George Hall School).

The Beach Chalet at the western end of Golden Gate Park, built in 1925, is home to a trove of New Deal artworks in the first floor lobby, or entrance hall. The centerpiece of the Beach Chalet's artworks is an enormous fresco mural by Lucien Labaudt, entitled "San Francisco Life."   This magnificent mural cycle is 9' high and covers all four walls of the lobby (about 1500 square feet in all). It was painted by Labaudt in 1936-37. The mural cycle has nine sections depicting San Francisco locales: the Embarcadero & Fisherman's Wharf on the north wall; Baker's Beach on the...

The Beach Chalet at the western end of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco contains several New Deal artworks. Lucian Labaudt painted a set of monochrome frescoes around the stairwell and in the corridor to the restrooms on the south side of the ground floor.  The stairwell is surrounded on all sides and on the ceiling by soaring gulls and sea birds. The frescoes were done in 1937 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project (FAP). Labaudt also painted the immense mural around the entrance hall.  

The Beach Chalet contains several New Deal artworks.  Include decorative mosaics by Primo Caredio, done in 1937.  They are located in the South Staircase and over the north and east doorways of the large first-floor lobby. All the Beach Chalet artworks were done by unemployed artists hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). 

Michael von Meyer created the enameled, magnolia wood carvings, called "Sea Creatures," in the balustrade of the south stairway of the Beach Chalet.  The carvings are 36" high and run all the way up to the second floor, about 25 feet in all.  It is a marvelous fantasy piece that includes an octopus, mermaid with child, merman (Neptune?), porpoise, fish with elephantine trunk, sailing ship and a deep-sea diver, among others. All the Beach Chalet artworks were done by unemployed artists hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). 

The Federal Art Project (FAP) funded several art works currently located at the Beaumont Library in Beaumont, Calif. The pieces include a mural, a watercolor, and a sculpture created by WPA artists. 1. Watercolor by John Warren. Labeled as FAP on the frame. 2. Mural by artist Henri de Kruil. The artwork is composed of two pieces depicting the view from Beaumont looking north toward the mountains. The bigger part of the mural is on the north wall of the second story of the library. The smaller piece is on the east wall of the library. They almost meet together in a corner. Gene...

This oil-on-canvas mural by Grace Greenwood, entitled "The Progress of Power," was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed in 1940. It is housed in the Beech River Heritage Museum, which is the former post office.

The Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Building Norwalk" was painted in 1938 by Arnold Blanch for the Belden Station post office in Norwalk, Connecticut.

The Belding School contains a WPA mural "Children's Activities" by Roberta Elvis. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 15' x 5'4"

In the late 1930s Emilio Amero completed work on the mural entitled  “Tropical and Hudson Valley Vegetation,” for the entrance lobby in the new Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. It was one of over a dozen murals painted by artists for the new building with funds provided by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration. It so happens, that the new building for which Emilio Amero painted the mural was also a New Deal project. The building was constructed with the support of the  federal Public Works Administration (PWA). Emilio Amero was a Mexican printmaker and painter who spent much of...

In 1936 Luis Arenal and his assistant completed work on the mural entitled  "North American Tropical Vegetation," for the First Lobby Stairway of the new Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital. It was one of over a dozen murals painted by artists for the new building with funds provided by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration. It so happens, that the new building for which Luis Arenal painted the mural was also a New Deal project. The building was constructed with the support the  federal Public Works Administration (PWA). Luis Arenal was a painter and sculptor born in Mexico in...

In the late 1930s Lily Furedi painted the mural entitled "Simple Way of Life" for the women’s large occupational therapy room in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital, It was one of over a dozen murals painted by artists for the building with funds provided by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration. According to Wikipedia, Lily Furedi began her work as a New Deal artists with the the Public Works of Art Project. When the program ended in 1934, Furedi joined the Federal Art Project under which completed the mural for Bellevue Hospital. The Federal Art Project Photographic Division lists...

In the late 1930s, Axel Horn and an assistant, George Brodsky, who was a veteran of the Lincoln Battalion, completed work on the mural entitled “Industrial Landscape” for the first floor waiting room in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. Horn and Brodsky were two out of more than a dozen artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA/FAP) to paint a series of murals for the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital. Susan Teller Gallery explains that "rom 1936 to 1940 Horn worked on the Federal Arts Project. He made murals for the Seaview and Bellevue...

In 1936 and 1937 William Karp painted a mural entitled "Normal Pursuits of Man" for the occupational therapy exhibition room in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. It was one of over a dozen murals painted by artists for the psychiatric building at Bellevue Hospital with funds provided by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration. With funding from the W.P.A., Karp also produced the mural entitled "Armed with Learning and Reality, Looking from the Past to the Future" in 1938, for the Hebrew Orphans Asylum, NYC. We know that one of the murals at Bellevue hospital entitled "Materials for Relaxation" by...

In the early 1940s Nunzio laSpina completed work on a mural decoration for the ceiling in the lobby of the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. LaSpina was one of over a dozen artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project (FAP) arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to paint murals for the new psychiatric building at Bellevue Hospital. The Living New Deal needs further information to determine the current status of this mural.

In the late 1930s Ryah Ludins painted the mural entitled “Recreational Grounds of New York City” for the men’s recreation room in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. It was one of over a dozen murals painted by artists for the building with funds provided by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration. We know that one of the murals at Bellevue hospital entitled “Materials for Relaxation” by David Margolis has been restored. However, The Living New Deal needs further information to determine the current status of the other WPA murals painted for Bellevue Hospital. Ryah Ludins first became interested...

"Materials of Relaxation," by David Margolis was one of over a dozen murals that the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration commissioned for the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital in the mid and late 1930s. "Materials of Relaxation" is a nine-panel mural located inside the 1st Avenue entrance of the old Bellevue Hospital building. Margolis painted the mural between 1937 and 1941. The New Deal Art Registry lists Richard Lillis and Vincient LaGambino as assistants for the mural project. However, Terenchin Gallery in Hudson, New York lists artist Morris Shulman as a fresco assistant for the project. The panels...

In 1937 Walter Quirt completed work on the mural entitled The Growth of Medicine from Primitive Times for the doctor’s lounge room of the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. Quirt was one of over a dozen artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project (FAP) arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to paint murals for the new psychiatric building at Bellevue Hospital. John Dorfman of the online journal "Art and Antiques" pronounces Quirt's mural for Bellevue hospital to be his "...greatest achievement for the WPA..."  Dorfman explains that it "...was a panoramic mural...which combined Surrealism and history painting on a grand scale." Quirt painted...

In 1936 Phil Reisman was one of over twelve artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration to paint a series of murals for the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital. With funding provided by the Federal Art Project, Reisman completed work on the mural entitled "Interdependence of Industry and Agriculture" for the men's therapy room in the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital in the late 1930s. In an article about Reisman's prints for the Charles Marvin Fairchild Memorial Gallery, George D. Bianco writes that "he mural , painted in egg tempera, depicted various American industrial scenes...

In the late 1930s, Louis Ross completed work on the mural entitled "Cyclorama of Handicrafts" for the classroom in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. Ross was one of over a dozen artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA/FAP) to paint a series of murals for the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital. The Living New Deal needs further information to determine the current status of the "Cyclorama of Handicrafts" mural that Louis Ross painted for Bellevue Hospital.

In the mid 1930s, Agnes Tait completed work on the mural entitled "Summer Holiday" for the women’s recreation room in the Psychiatric Building of Bellevue Hospital. Tait was one of over a dozen artists commissioned by the Federal Art Project arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA/FAP) to paint a series of murals for the Psychiatric Building at Bellevue Hospital. We learn from the brief survey of Tait's career on her webpage that she "...produced some of her best-known works during the Depression era including the frequently reproduced painting Skating in Central Park, a set of murals for Belleview Hospital in New York,...

Artist Jason Herron sculpted "Modern Youth" for Belmont Senior High School in Los Angeles, CA, with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funds. Originally located on the school's front lawn and currently found in the entryway, the sculpture "represents the scholastic interests as well as the athletic accomplishments of young people today" (Wells, p. 25). It depicts a boy with a book in his right hand and a globe against his left hip. He sits on a two-tiered base with the inscription "WPA/Federal Art Project/1937." According to a 1937 article in the Los Angeles School Journal, "Jason Herron is a young lady whose art...

In 1937, Raymond Noble painted a mural for Belmont High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Art Project (FAP).

Artist Stanley Spohn designed a tile mosaic for a drinking fountain at Belmont High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Spohn described the mosaic as being "handled in a manner reminiscent of the Persian rather than the Italian School, which conforms with Umbrian type of architecture in color and in its vertical and horizontal arrangement of the tessera method of making mosaic. "It portrays four of the intellectual achievements. Science is shown by a conventionalized microscope on the observation platform of which there is a crystal, suggestive of the polarization of light. Behind the...

The Farm Security Administration commissioned this mural in 1937-38 to commemorate the New Deal resettlement community of Jersey Homesteads, now called Roosevelt, N.J. The mural can still be seen in the Roosevelt Public School. "Ben Shahn's mural for the community center at Jersey Homesteads, Roosevelt, is a fresco - a painting done on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water. It depicts the life of Jewish immigrants coming to America in the 1930s. Shahn was an American Social Realist painter. His paintings often focused specifically on social problems and the hardships of everyday life. His work was influenced by Diego Rivera,...

"The Legend of El Diablo" "...is an oil painting on masonite done by Clarkson Dye (FAP/WPA Project #7754). It measures 42-1/4" x 52-1/2" and hangs in the second floor legislative meeting room. Originally this painting was installed at Mt. Diablo State Park, but was moved to the old State Capital Building after restoration."

The former Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Norwalk, Connecticut houses two 15' x 11' oil on canvas murals by Harry Townsend, titled "Work, the Soul of Progress" and “Arrival of the First Settlers.” They were painted in 1938 for the building, then Norwalk's newly completed high school, under the WPA's Federal Art Project. They are located in the building's auditorium. Restoration Info: Property of City of Norwalk, CT, WPA Art Collection This school has closed and it is now the Crystal Theatre. Arrangements to see the murals can be made by calling the Crystal Theatre at 203-847-4850.