Art Works Sites

In 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the Totem Bight State Historical Park. The park, believed to be the site of an old Tlingit fish camp, was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Located in Ketchikan, the site brings together totem carvings of the Tlingit and Haida people, gathered from uninhabited villages. As barter declined and non-Native settlements proliferated, Alaska Natives began to abandon their villages in remote forest areas and move in search of employment. The settlements and totem art they left behind began to deteriorate. In the late...

The Blackfish Pole is the reproduction of a Tlingit pole that was located in front of Forested Island House on Tongass Island. The pole tells the story of the origin of blackfish (killer whale). This Tlingit heralding totem is a reproduction carved by Charles Brown and a crew of apprentice carvers. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics of the carving: “The Raven, carved with the dorsal fin of the blackfish extending above him, is a special crest. The tiny face on each blackfish represents the blowhole; the human figure represents the...

The Eagle Grave Market Pole is a totem carved in the 1930s by John Wallace. The original was located in the old village of Howkan. The carving found today at the Totem Bight State Historical Park was reproduced from memory by John Wallace. Wallace’s carving has a Chilkat blanket, which is an uncommon detail for this type of totem, and was not present in the original design. The totem is 10’ high and has a 42” base below ground. The design of the blanket evokes clouds, mountains, and the symbolic characters that live in the forest. The photographic material published here...

A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “The fabled bird called Kadjuk, which is the special crest of the head of Kadjuk people of the Raven clan, is at the top of this Tlingit pole that was copied from Cat Island. The undecorated space separating the bird from the other figures symbolizes the lofty habitat of the bird and the high regard in which the crest is held. Raven is the next figure, with his breast forming the headdress of his wife, Fog Woman. She holds two...

This pole was carved at Totem Bight by Charles Brown in the late 1930s. It is a reproduction of a Tlingit pole from Tongass Island. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “The bear and paw prints symbolize Kats’ wife. Kats is a character of Tlingit mythology that lived for a time with a female grizzly bear as his wife. In 1985, Israel Shotridge carved a replica of the bear that replaced the bear carved by Brown.”

The Man Wearing Bear Hat is a reproduction of a Tlingit grave marker or mortuary pole from Cat Island. According to a 2013 Department of Natural Resources Master Development Plan for Totem Bight, the totem represents “a man of the Bear clan wearing a large carved wooden hat surmounted by a bear’s head. Such a hat was worn at a potlatch or other important occasions during which stories were told or dramatized. Charles Brown carved the first copy of this pole in the late 1930s. Israel Shotridge carved a second replica in 1995. “

The Master Carver Pole pole was carved by John Wallace in 1941. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “It was customary on Haida poles to carve the crests of husband and wife. The eagle on the top of this pole is one of the main crests of the Haida Eagle Clan, the clan to which Wallace belonged. The beaver and bullhead
on the pole are also Eagle Clan symbols. The pole additionally includes the opposite crest of the Raven Clan, represented by the raven, bear, blackfish, and...

This Tlingit heralding totem is a reproduction carved by Charles Brown and a crew of apprentice carvers. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics of the carving: “The top figure is a shaman in ceremonial garb, headdress, and fringed leather apron. The figures carved under the shaman depict a series of adventures including the story of the Chief’s Nephew Who Fed Eagles and the story of a woman with a frog husband and children. Near the bottom of the pole, Brown carved one of the many stories about Raven as ‘the trickster.’...

The Raven at the Head of Nass Pole was carved by Charles Brown with the assistance of a team of Civilian Conservation Corps Native carvers. This totem is a reproduction of a Tlingit pole 
located on Tongass Island. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “The top figure on this pole is a chief wearing a spruce root hat. The figure at the bottom of the pole is Raven-at- the-head-of-Nass, from whom Raven stole daylight. The human above Raven-at-the-head-of-Nass represents the ancestors of the Raven clan who...

This Sea Monster Pole was carved by John Wallace circa 1939-1939. It is the reproduction of a totem from the now-uninhabited Haida village of Klinkwan on Prince of Wales
Island. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “A village watchman stands guard at the top of the pole, just above two eagle crests and symbols representing clouds and mountains, the place of eagles. Below these are figures representing the world under the sea—blackfish holding a seal, a sea monster, and a devilfish (octopus) in the act of devouring...

The Clan House is a replica of a community house representative of houses built in the early nineteen-century native villages of Southeast Alaska. It served as the chieftain's dwelling and it also housed several families part of his clan. The structure and its totem art did not originally existed on the current site. The site was a fish camp prior to being turned into a totem park. The paining decorating the façade was created by Charles Brown. It represents a stylized raven figure painted in light blue and brown colors. The eyes of the raven are composed as two stylized faces. Such elaborate...

The Halibut Pole is a Tlingit pole that honors the Halibut House people of the Nexadi clan. According to a nomination form of the National Register of Historic Places, the Halibut is the only pole at Totem Bight that is an old original. Relocated from the Tlingit village of Tuxekan on the Prince of Wales Island, the pole was reconditioned and re-erected at Totem Bight. It was housed at the park until 1970, after which it was relocated to the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan. The replica of the bottomfish (halibut) at the top of an undecorated post that can...

A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “This pole illustrates the mythological conception of thunder. A huge bird that lives on the tops of the highest mountains, the thunderbird, creates thunder by beating its wings, and lightening by blinking its eyes. The thunderbird was said to live in the mountains and come down to prey on whales. The whale at the base of the pole symbolizes the mountaintop where the bird rests before devouring his prey and it is said that whale bones can be found on...

The Thunderer’s Pole is the reproduction of a pole that once stood at Tongass Island. It was carved by Native craftsmen in the late 1930s at Totem Bight for the Civilian Conservation Corps restoration program. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “This Tlingit pole symbolizes thunder, and belongs to the Thunder House people. It depicts four brothers belonging to the Wolf moiety who were changed into Thunderers, mythical beings who live in the sky and on the mountaintops and create thunder and lightning.”

The Village Watchman Poles are part of the structure of the clan house at Totem Bight. This is one of two identical posts that mark the corners the structure, flanking the entry facade. Sitting on the corner posts, a man figure wearing a spruce root hat and a crest design on his face, holds a cane and appears ready for a dance or potlatch. This pole was carved by Charles Brown at Totem Bight for the Civilian Conservation Corps restoration program. The photographic material published here by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect...

The Village Watchman Poles are part of the structure of the clan house at Totem Bight. This is one of two identical posts that mark the corners the structure, flanking the entry facade. Sitting on the corner posts, a man figure wearing a spruce root hat and a crest design on his face, holds a cane and appears ready for a dance or potlatch. This pole was carved by Charles Brown at Totem Bight for the Civilian Conservation Corps restoration program. The photographic material published here by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing...

The Wandering Raven House Entrance Pole is the central totem that decorates the façade and marks the entrance of the clan house at Totem Bight. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics of the carving: “The pole against the front of the house is called Wandering Raven, named for the legendary Raven carved as the top figure. Raven can be recognized by his straight black beak. Underneath Raven and at his feet is a carved box containing daylight. Below a mink and a frog, the standing figure of a man, Natsihline, represents the...

A rock retaining wall was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1940 with the creation of Totem Square. The "Baranov" Totem Pole, also completed in 1941-42 as a project of the CCC under the supervision of the Forest Service. It was restored in 2010-2011 by local totem expert Tommy Joseph, using the original design drawing by George Benson, a local Tlingit. The Totem Pole has a controversial past surrounding both the construction of pole in Wrangell rather than Sitka as originally commissioned and for the original design, which many viewed as disrespectful and unrepresentative of the region's history. A...

These three murals "...and 14 others were originally created as public art specifically for Danvers Town Hall. The project began in 1934 under the joint auspices of the Works Progress Administration Artist and Writers Project and the then solidly Republican Town of Danvers. Numerous local citizens, including William C. Endicott, Jasper Marsh, Lester Couch, Harriet S. Tapley, Ivan G. Smith, Victor D. Elmere, William R. Lynch and the local VFW donated cash for the materials used in the project, while the Federal WPA Administration paid the artists' modest salaries. Principal artist of these works of art on canvas was Richard V....

The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) created a set of murals for what was then the Junior-Senior High School in Darien, Connecticut, now its town hall. "In Darien, approximately 11  artists, Robert Pallesen, James Daugherty, Arthur Gibson Hull, Remington Schulyer, Loran Wilford and William J. Schaldach among them, were employed to create artwork, most of which was done in the town’s schools (today’s Town Hall building was the town’s High School in 1934)."

"Ross Moffett studied with Hawthorne and was one of the first year-round painters in Provincetown, moving into Days Lumberyard in 1914. "Gathering Beach Plums" and "Spreading Nets," his large murals in the Town Hall entrance were painted in 1934 under the federal Public Works of Art Project of the Depression era. An easel painter and monotype artist, Moffett undertook only one other mural commission in his career." (IAmProvincetown.com)

Artist Walter Korder painted an extensive series of WPA murals for what was then Hall High School, and is now the Town Hall: "His 1,000 square foot mural covers all four walls of Room 312 and chronicles main events in the history of Connecticut and throughout the New England area... Korder completed the masterpiece in 1941 in what was originally a library when the building was known as Hall High School. The stunning detail and vibrant colors preserve a history that dates back to the Red Paint Man of Maine and the Algonquin Indians. “It represents things that are not always represented,” Slifka...

The former post office originally contained three oil on canvas murals by Edith Hamlin, painted in 1938 under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "Days of First Railroad" and "Spaniards" still hang in the building, while a third mural, "Overland Pioneers," is missing.

The Transylvania County Library in Brevard, North Carolina houses a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural commissioned for the city's old post office: "Good News," painted by Pietro Lazzari. The medium is glazed tempera. The mural remained in its original location, which served as a post office until 1972 and then the now-former Transylvania County Library building, until 2006.

Below is the first official photo view of the Golden Gate International Exhibition a few years prior to its opening in 1939. And apparently based on the photo is the original WPA, 9' x 6' oil on canvas mural. Artist unknown.

'The administration and terminal building is semicircular in plan, its court having a diameter of 86 feet. It is constructed entirely of reinforced concrete and is designed to resist earthquake shocks. It has 2 main floors and 2 mezzanine floors and is provided with a radio control room and an aerial beacon on top of the structure for eventual use in connection with the airfield.'--Short and Brown, p. 639.

'These twin hangars were constructed for permanent use to be part of a future flying field but were made available for temporary use by the exposition. Each structure has mechanically operated doors 200 feet wide and 40 feet high with a possible increase in height to 65 feet at the centers. A one-story shop wing 40 feet wide extends along one side of each building. The two structures were completed in June 1938 at a total cost for both of $709,239.'--Short and Brown, p. 534. The west hangar was the Hall of Transportation and the east hangar was the Palace of...

Fine Arts Building at the Golden Gate International Exposition constructed with PWA funds.

This building was part of the Pan American Airways Exhibit of the Golden Gate International Exposition.

Funds for a seawall and fill for the exposition site were provided through a $3,043,000 WPA grant. Another WPA grant of $1,296,000 provided for roadways, a causeway, trestles, landscaping, and drainage of water systems. A PWA grant of $1,711,000, matched in part by local funds, provided for paving, ferry slips and some buildings. Private funding for the exhibition were raised through private subscriptions, through the sale of bonds. A 1940 WPA publication describes the construction of Treasure Island as follows: "Dedicated November 21, 1937, Yerba Buena Shoals, more popularly known as Treasure Island, was raised from beneath the waters of the bay through the handling...

Miguel Covarrubias painted six murals on the theme "Pageant of the Pacific" for the Golden Gate International Exposition. They were displayed on Treasure Island along with other art objects on the theme of "Pacific Unity" from 1939-1940. The murals have been housed in several locations since the 1940s. The Treasure Island Development Authority now looks after five of the murals, including one currently on display at the de Young museum. The other four are currently in storage. A sixth mural disappeared in the 1940s and its whereabouts are currently unknown. The long term plan for the murals is to reinstall them on...

Four images "crafted of square tiles square tiles that frame the vestibule beneath the clock tower," collectively titled "Youth Carrying the Heritage of the Past into the Future," are located at Trenton Central High School. NJ.com, 2014: "The mosaics were designed for the school by muralist Monty Lewis. The work was commissioned through the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project and completed in 1941."   Additional Contributor note (January 2019): "The school building closed in 2014 and has been torn down.  The mosaics were removed and stored.  They will be installed in the new Trenton Central High School building that is being errected on the...

The State Department was originally built for the War Department in 1940-41 and has been known since 2000 as the Harry S. Truman Federal Building.  It is home to three sculptures commissioned for the original War Department building. •An eagle over the building entrance by Harry Kreis (1942) •A lime casein on plaster work entitled "Defense of the Four Freedoms" by Kindred McLeary (1941) •"War and Peace" by Earl N. Thorp (1941) Another work by Harry Kreis (1942), entitled "Soldier Groups," was originally in the lobby of the War Department but has apparently disappeared (see comment below) A fifth commissioned work, a bas-relief called "Peaceful Pursuits...

The Tumacácori National Monument was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the ruins of the Mission of San Jose de Tumacacori.  In 1918, it came under the administration of the National Park Service and its regional 'custodian', Frank Pinkley.  Congress created the Tumacácori National Historic Park in 1990, adding the ruins of two nearby missions, Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi and San Cayetano de Calabazas. Under the park service's guidance, Tumacácori mission church and its dependencies were stabilized in 1920-21, but intentionally not restored.  Only with the aid of the New Deal did the park come to...

The Tumacácori National Monument was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the ruins of the Mission of San Jose de Tumacacori.  In 1918, it came under the administration of the National Park Service and its regional 'custodian', Frank Pinkley.  Congress created the Tumacácori National Historic Park in 1990, adding the ruins of two nearby missions, Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi and San Cayetano de Calabazas. Under the park service's guidance, Tumacácori mission church and its dependencies were stabilized in 1920-21, but intentionally not fully restored.  Only with the aid of the New Deal did the park come...

The historic federal building (now U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse) in Tallahassee, Florida houses an example of New Deal artwork: an eight-panel mural titled "History of Florida." Wikipedia: "The murals were funded by the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture, a Depression-era program ... Hungarian-born American Edward “Buk” Ulreich (1889-1966) won a competition to paint the murals, which he completed in 1939." GSA description of the eight panels: 1) Five Standards on Parade shows the flags that have flown over Florida: Spanish, French, English, Confederate, and American. 2) Aborigine depicts the customs and life of Florida's native inhabitants at the time of early exploration. 3) Spain's influence...

Now known as the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House, the historic United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House in Louisville, Kentucky houses New Deal artwork. "The building was among the first recipients of artwork commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project — a program ... that employed painters and sculptors to incorporate art within the interiors of federal buildings nationwide. In 1935, the PWA funded artist Frank Weathers Long, a Kentucky native, to paint ten murals depicting regional themes of commerce, agriculture, and sport."

Artist Tom Lea was commissioned in 1938 to paint the "Pass of the North" mural for the Federal Courthouse in El Paso. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts funded the project. Artist Milford Zornes spoke about Tom Lea's art at the El Paso Courthouse: “Both are very fine and an inspiration to me. The Tom Lea especially pleased me. It was in beautiful color harmony with the room. So beautiful and skillfully painted. To me the idea of going through a country, feeling its characteristic personality, then being able to see in the vicinity the work of a painter who has interpreted...

This oil on canvas by Edward Biberman entitled "Los Angeles - Prehistoric and Spanish Colonial" (1938) was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts at the time of the building's construction. It was removed from the building when the post office moved out in 1965, but was restored in 2003. A second mural by Biberman, "Creative Man" is still in storage.

This limestone sculpture, "Law" (1941), depicting a young woman with a tablet stands across the lobby from James Hansen's "Young Lincoln." The informational plaque near the sculpture reads: "The Fine Arts Section of the U.S. Department of the Treasury commissioned this 8' sculpture by Archibald Garner (1904-1969) in 1939, based on an open and anonymous competition available to all sculptors west of the Mississippi for the decoration of the Los Angeles Post Office and Courthouse lobby. The sculpture was installed in 1941 and is carved from one block of Indiana limestone, primarily by hand. Inscribed on the tablet which the figure...