Sculptures Sites

The Sitting Bear Grave Marker is a reproduction from an original totem from Old Kasaan, carved by native craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps. The totem was relocated on January 30, 1939 to New Kasaan at the Whale House site, where a copy was carved. Located at the west end of the village inside a small grave house, the original Bear Grave Marker stood on top of a grave.

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the original Skawaal Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on this pole: “This pole is about 50-feet high and was one of two poles which stood in front of Chief Skáwaal's Rib House. When the pole was moved to New Kasaan, the thunderbird figure at the top was replaced and the surface was carved down to solid wood during the CCC restoration. The carved figures below the ring appear the same for each pole: Raven with the moon in its beak; Raven holding his beak...

Standing in front of the Whale House, this 50-foot pole is a reproduction of an Old Kasaan original. The pole was carved in 1939 by James Peele. Chester R. Snow, a Construction Engineer for the Civilian Conservation Corps noted that the original pole was buried 10 feet in the ground. In Tlingit and Haida societies, houses typically have a post incorporated in the façade or standing in front of it. The Son-I-Hat Frontal Pole stands on the beach, in front of the  Whale House, which faces the water.

David Peele and craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Spencer Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on the pole: “The 40-foot Spencer Pole was raised by Kate Gamede, a Kasaan woman of Táas Láanas clan, as a memorial to her husband, a photographer from Victoria, BC. The image of Mr. Spencer appears at the top of the pole; below appear scroll patterns; Raven carrying the moon in his mouth; and Black Skin, the strong man, holding the sea lion. The last figure illustrates a story familiar to...

Sculpted by Samuel Cashwan in 1938 for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), "Pioneer Mother" is a deco modern-style sculpture on the south side of the Clare High School, now the Clare Middle School. It has the appearance of a madonna and child, with the mother's face elongated and the child clinging to her breast. It was recently conserved and remains outside the school.

Alexander Stirling Calder was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Continental Post Rider, 1775-1789.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Calder was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Gaetano Cecere was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Rural Free Delivery Mail Carrier.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Cecere was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Gleb Derujinksy was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create eight sculptures of previous Postmasters General. The sculptures were made out of wood, and Derujinsky was paid $2,800 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created...

Chaim Gross was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Alaska Snowshoe Mail Carrier.” It is made out of an aluminum alloy, and Gross was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the...

Arthur Lee was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Pony Express Mail Carrier, 1860-1861.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Lee was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Oronzio Maldarelli was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Airmail Pilot.” It is made out of an aluminum alloy, and Maldarelli was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created Public...

Berta Margoulies was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Colonial Foot Postman, 1691-1775.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Margoulies was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of...

Attilio Piccirilli was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Contemporary Postman.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Piccirilli was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the newly-created...

Concetta Maria Scaravaglione was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Railway Mail Carrier, 1862.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Scaravaglione was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Carl Ludwig Schmitz was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “City Delivery Carrier, 1863.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Schmitz was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction...

Heinz Warneke was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “Express Mail Carrier.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Warneke was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the jurisdiction of the...

Sidney Biehler Waugh was commissioned by the New Deal’s Treasury Section of Fine Arts to create the sculpture “U.S. Post Stage Driver, 1789-1836.” The sculpture was made out of an aluminum alloy, and Waugh was paid $3,000 for the job. When this artwork was created, the present-day Clinton Federal Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office Department. The Treasury Section of Fine Arts existed from 1934 to 1943. It was initially called the “Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture”; then the “Treasury Section of Fine Arts”; and finally just “Section of Fine Arts” when it was moved under the...

"The City acquired this land on July 19, 1910, and since the 1920s Italian-Americans of Queens have gathered here to celebrate Columbus. The Board of Aldermen, on April 1, 1930, named the site for the famed explorer. The Italian Chamber of Commerce installed a bronze tablet here on October 12, 1937, indicating its intention to build a full monument to Columbus. In 1938, with funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Italian sculptor Angelo Racioppi was commissioned to create the seven foot tall bronze of a youthful Christopher Columbus standing in front of a ship’s tiller. At the unveiling event on...

According to the website of the General Services Administration "Young American Man and Young American Woman act as sentinels to the main courtrooms of the 1937 Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania. These two sculptures express the admirable qualities possessed by the young men and women of depression-era America. Kreis communicated the upstanding nature of the figures through his use of monumental, simple forms, and by leaving out any unessential or frivolous details. Further evidence of their moral rectitude is cleverly expressed by the inclusion of the man's faithful dog, which regards his human companion with complete devotion....

"One of several small monuments in the vicinity of what is known as the “Battle Pass” in Prospect Park, the Dongan Oak Monument commemorates events which took place in this area during the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776. During this significant battle of the Revolutionary War, a large white oak mentioned in 1685 in the patent of Governor Thomas Dongan (1634–1715), was cut down by Colonial soldiers and thrown across the road to impede the advance of the British army."   (www.nycgovparks.org) In the 1930s, the sculpture was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the...

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.

This limestone sculpture "Flood Control" by Karl Lang was created for the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.  It still graces the southeastern corner of the building.

This marble eagle statue  -- one of four at the entrances to the F. Edward Herbert Federal Building -- was produced with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds by Gifford Proctor.

This limestone sculpture "Harvesting Sugar Cane" by Armin Scheler was created for the F. Edward Hebert Federal Building and paid for with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds. It still graces the northeastern flank of the building.

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.

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...

The United States Courthouse in Columbia, TN, formerly the post office, is home to Sidney Waugh's 1941 limestone sculpture, entitled "American Eagle," and Henry Billings's 1942 oil on canvas mural, entitled "Maury County Landscape." Both were completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The Newport News Federal Building contains three unglazed terra cotta sculptures by Mary B. Fowler, completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1943. The sculptures depict local history: "Captain Newport Brings News and Aid to the Starving Colonists," "Present Day Industries," and "Early Industries."

The southern face of the federal building in Peoria, Illinois, features four limestone sculptures: "Postal Service," "Agriculture," Industry," and "Native Indian." Commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, Freeman Schoolcraft completed the sculptures in 1939.

The First Houses public housing development was constructed by the WPA in 1935. It is decorated throughout the courtyard and on the walls here and there with small animal statues and carvings. The New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation plaque at the site says: "The paved courtyard is enlivened by freestanding and applied animal sculpture, designed by artists associated with the Works Progress Administration." One artist involved was Adolf Wolff, who created a statue of a monkey.

One of the results of the 1936 Works Progress Administration (WPA) airport beautification project was the Four Winds fountain and bas-reliefs by sculptor Enrique Alférez. The airport, originally Shushan Airport, was renamed New Orleans Municipal Airport, and then Lakefront Airport after the new airport was constructed. The airport was restored in a 4-year project following Hurricane Katrina damage, at which time Alférez' bas-reliefs and murals by Xavier Gonzalez were uncovered. Alférez served as the director of the sculpture program for New Orleans WPA artists.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored and recarved hundreds of totem poles in Alaska, as part of a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1942. The program was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service effort to employ Alaska Natives and conserve totems and Native cultural assets. U.S. Forest Service architect Linn A. Forrest oversaw the joint program of the Forest Service and the CCC throughout Southeast Alaska. Master carver John Wallace of Hydaburg carved the Four Story Totem Pole. An information page, published by the Public Art Archive, summarizes the history and symbolic meaning of the figures represented on the...

"In 1935 the Section on Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department of the Federal Government announced two competitions – one for a mural painting and one for a statue to be located in two courtrooms of the newly constructed United States Post Office and Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, which opened in April of 1936. There was a sculpture competition to select a 7-foot high bronze figure of “Justice”, with the winner receiving a sum of $6,500.00 to complete and install the sculpture. The Newark Museum coordinated the competition for a sculpture to grace Courtroom #2. The sculpture selected...

From 1939 to 1942, Portland’s Franklin High School benefited from two different Works Progress Administration (WPA) initiatives. One of the projects allowed artists from the Federal Art Project, one of the five independent branches of the Works Progress Administration, to respond to a commission funded by Franklin High School students and alumni ($15,000). Stonecutter George Berry and his assistants sculpted a fifteen feet tall (with pedestal), forty-ton sandstone statue of the school’s namesake. In spring 1942, the “Statesman Scientist” was installed at the north entrance of the school overlooking the athletic field.  The pedestal includes several built-in benches as well...

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).

"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.

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).

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.

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...