Sculpture and Bas Relief Sites

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).

This cast stone sculpture by Donal Hord was funded by the PWAP in 1934. The sculpture depicts a man crouching behind a wheel filled with gears and is variously known as "Man and the Wheel" or "Wheel of Industry" or "Man and the Machine." The sculpture's dimensions are 6'8" height x 5'6" width x 4' deep, and the base is 4'h x 5'w x 4'd. The piece seems to have originally been made for the museum in Exposition Park. It is currently in storage: "The sculpture was constructed as part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). It may have been...

The exterior of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building is enhanced by several works of art commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts in 1938. Above the entrances are rectangular bas-relief panels that represent foreign trade, agriculture, shipping, and industry: "Construction" by Chaim Gross (1938);  "Shipping" by Robert Laurent (1938); "Agriculture" by Concetta Scaravaglione (1938); "Foreign Trade" by Carl L. Schmitz (1938). There are also two bas-relief medallions with eagles by Sidney Waugh located on the northwest corner elevation of the building (not shown here).    

The exterior of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building is enhanced by several works of art commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts in 1938. The building is fronted on the east side by two monumental sculptures, entitled "Man Controlling Trade", by Michael Lantz (1942).  These allegorical sculptures, in Art Deco Style, depict a muscular man holding a rearing stallion, symbolizing the force of trade and the government’s role in regulating it.   

The exterior of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building is enhanced by several works of art commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts in 1938. The large, cast aluminum grilles on the Constitution Avenue entrance have six images designed by William McVey portraying commercial transportation methods: Columbus's 15th-century ships, an 18th-century merchant ship, a 19th-century clipper ship, a paddlewheel steamship, an early 20th-century ocean liner, and a seaplane.

The terra cotta bas relief sculpture mounted above the front entrance to the Forest Hills Station post office on Queens Boulevard is titled, "The Spirit of Communication".  It was created by Sten Jacobson under the federal Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts program and installed in 1938.

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.

Kalamazoo's Bronson Park featured an Art Deco-style fountain built with help from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The fountain was located toward the east side of the park. Kalamazoo Business and Professional Women's Club held a competition, awarding the first place $250 prize to Marcelline Gougler, University of Illinois art instructor who had studied under well-known sculptor Alfonso Iannelli, designer of Pavilions at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair Center of Progress and student of Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore sculptor. Iannelli was brought in to provide engineering and later Gougler, ceded the project to him. The fountain depicts a westward facing settler standing...

Franklin Classical Middle School in Long Beach, CA, is home to three concrete Bas Relief panels likely completed under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP). The artist and date of completion are unknown. The first relief is located above the entrance to the girls locker room. It "depicts the words 'Health' and 'Beauty' flanked by three female profiles, on both sides of the phrase, looking towards each other and shaking hands. On the other side of the profiles there are four horizontal sections forming a zigzag pattern on the edges. The profiles and words are painted a flesh...

"One of the primary goals of the Federal Art Project was to bring different kinds of art to the American people. Sculptor Kathleen Wilson was funded by FAP to create 12 three-foot statues representing historic priests. Local teenagers were hired with National Youth Administration funds to build the shrine structures for the “Camino de los Padres.” With the support of local Chambers of Commerce, the statues were placed along Arizona roadways. This statue with its stone grotto outside of Nogales has attracted much devotion since construction in 1939. Most statues have subsequently disappeared and many of those that are left...

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 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

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.

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

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,...

Gustaf Dahlstrom's panel oil-on-plaster mural "Flora and Fauna," as well two carved wood bas relief sculptures: "Wild Animals" and "Farm Animals" (artist unknown) were each completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. The are all viewable in room 106 of the Green Bay Pavilion.  

The Astronomers Monument at Griffith Observatory is one of L. Archibald Garner's well-known public works. It was completed in 1934 with Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) support. The Monument pays homage to six great astronomers: Hipparchus, Nicolas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and William Herschel. Although the Monument was Garner's design, he worked with five other sculptors to sculpt and cast it. Each artist was responsible for one astronomer. (One of the artists, George Stanley, was also the creator of the famous "Oscar" statuette.) "On November 25, 1934 (about six months prior to the opening of the Observatory), a...

Federal Art Project artist Uno John Palokangas (known as John Palo-Kangas) sculpted "Spirit of the CCC" (1935) for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) WWI Veterans Camp located at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, CA. Also known as "Iron Mike," the 10-foot Art Deco sculpture depicts a young man stripped to the waist and holding a shovel. World War I veteran Robert J. Pauley of Carmichael, CA, was the artist's model. Palo-Kangas told a reporter that the work would be called "Conservation of Man and Nature." President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the sculpture on October 1, 1935. During his visit to Los Angeles,...

A ten foot long, 16 ton, polished black Diorite panther sculpture, nicknamed "Oscar." It was created by Raymond Puccinelli with support from the WPA Federal Art Project.

These carvings, each about 2' in diameter, depict "Immigrant Children" and were completed by Louise Pain with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.

In front of the Mackinac Island Courthouse and Police Department building is one of many "incredibly detailed, two-sided oak signs showing scenes of the island's heritage," that were hand-carved by WPA artisans. As of 2017 this example, created by J. W. Miximong, is the only remaining marker that is in active use .

On display at the second floor of the Soldiers’ Barracks of Fort Mackinac is one of many “incredibly detailed, two-sided oak signs showing scenes of the island’s heritage,” that were hand-carved by WPA artisans. This example, "Built 1829 // Presbyterian Mission Church To The Indians," was carved by J. W. Miximong. The carver's name and 'WPA' are inscribed.

Located inside The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum is one of many “incredibly detailed, two-sided oak signs showing scenes of the island’s heritage,” that were hand-carved by WPA artisans. This example, "Retail Store // American Fur Co // 1818 - 1834" was carved by E. R. Homins. The carver's name and 'WPA' are inscribed.

On display at the Stuart House City Museum on Mackinac Island are four (or possibly five) of what were many "incredibly detailed, two-sided oak signs showing scenes of the island's heritage," that were hand-carved by WPA artisans. As of 2017 the examples housed here are: "1634 - 1635 First Explorer Passed This Way" by J. W. Miximong "1817 to 1834 Home of Robert Stewart Resident Mgr. American Fur Co." by E. R. Homins , by E. R. Homins "Built 1818 Home of Edward Biddle Clerk American Fur Co." by E. R. Homins "1817 - 1834 Warehouse American Fur Co." (Living New Deal is unsure if this is an original marker, restored by Dale Gensman,...

"The Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico houses four bronze busts done by John Raymond Terken in 1937. The busts are of prominent Roswell citizens John S. Chisum, Joseph C. Lea, John J. Hagerman, and Amelia Bolton Church." -New Mexico Off the Road

George Stanley created this large sculpture "Muse of Music, Dance, Drama" for the Hollywood Bowl in 1938-1940, with funding from the WPA. "The monument was constructed from 1938 to 1940, as part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). It was the largest of hundreds of WPA sculpture projects created in Southern California. It was described at the time as "an engineering feat...the entire hillside of this famous shrine made into a monument, in which are eleven hundred and eighty-eight tons of concrete, the forms of which are delineated by slabs of the same granite to the amount of two...

In 1936, sculptor Merrell Gage created a frieze and free-standing pylon, titled "Honorable Achievements," for Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA. He received funding from the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The pylon is located beside the south entrance to the Science Building. It depicts "figures representing various school activities: a track man at the take-off, a halfback about to pass, a girl picking botanical specimens, a chemistry student at work, a co-ed, and a graduate in cap and gown. Its inscription reads 'Achieve the Honorable'" (Wells, p. 24). Gage, an instructor at the University of Southern California and at the Chouinard...

This wood relief "Horseman" by Gordon Newell and Sherry Peticolas depicts a man leading two horses. It was funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project in 1937.

According to the Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture & the Arts, “The bas relief is executed on a series of green steatite stone blocks which depict mythical and human Hawaiian figures, flora, and animals in the upper portions flanking either side of a central doorway as well as stylized letter forming a narrative text beneath the figurative panels. The two panels, one on the Diamond Head side of the entry way and the other on the other side of the entry door both depict stories involving the god Kane and Kaneloa in a mythical story about the discovery and use...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) engaged native communities in Hydaburg in collaborative projects seekeing the preservation and restoration of native totem carvings: "In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), supervised by U.S. Forest Service personnel, created Hydaburg Park, and several other similar parks in Southeast Alaska. CCC workers brought poles to these parks from other locations. The government then hired local Haida workers to restore these totems. When restoration was not possible, replicas were carved. Twenty-one poles were brought to Hydaburg, five of which were able to be restored. The remaining 16 were replicated between 1939 and 1942."

These three terra cotta bas reliefs by Christian Petersen were created with WPA funding in 1936. "The Three Athletes bas relief was the second project Christian Petersen created for the Iowa State campus. A new staircase was being added to State Gym in 1935 during remodeling to accommodate large basketball crowds. The three reliefs, depict a football player, basketball player and a track star. Petersen designed the reliefs so they would fit the full length of the kiln. He put fine details into the athletes, sculpting muscle, bone and tendon contours and included the spikes and cleats on their shoes. The...

The veterinary building quadrangle contains a 1938 terra cotta mural by Christian Petersen. The large sculptured mural depicts a variety of scenes from veterinary life. The guiding vision behind the mural was "to depict the services the veterinary profession performs in conserving the life and health of domestic animals, thereby safeguarding the health of humans. Dean Stange envisioned a bas relief mounted in a huge wall of the courtyard so that students and faculty would see the mural every day and be reminded of the professional achievements and goals of their curriculum in veterinary medicine."   (https://vetmed.iastate.edu)

Christian Petersen created this sculpture "The Gentle Doctor" out of terra cotta in 1937-38. Both the original and a bronze copy are now located at ISU: "This sculpture has been recognized by veterinary schools throughout the United States and the world as an international symbol of veterinary medicine. The sculpture depicts a vet who is holding a sick or wounded puppy. At the doctor's feet is the mother of the puppy looking upward with concern. The Gentle Doctor stands almost seven feet tall. The original terra cotta sculpture sustained weather damage over time and was recast in bronze. It now stands...

The Food Sciences Building courtyard contains a 1934 fountain decorated with six bas-relief panels created by artist Christian Petersen under the Public Works of Art Project: "This mural, composed of six bas relief panels flanking a central fountain, depicts the history of the dairy industry in Iowa and America. The first three panels, located to the left of the fountain, depict the 19th century processes involved with the dairy production. At that time, everyone in the family took part in the milk production process: hand milking, straining, butter churning, and hauling milk to town were all part of the process before...

This PWA courthouse is decorated by several exterior bas-reliefs and a bronze statue of Andrew Jackson, all created by artist Charles Keck. "Bas-relief friezes are located at about the 6th floor level on the north (front of the courthouse), east and west facades. The central panel of the north facade discloses the figure of Contentment with other figures bearing palms signifying peace. This is attained by coming through Law; the east (left) panel showing the laws of Moses broken and the Quarrels resulting. Wisdom advises that Contentment and Peace be attained by going through Law. The west (right) panel shows Avarice...

In addition to a New Deal mural by Hilton Leech, the building contains a cast-aluminum sculpture "The Mail Carrier" by Leopold Scholz. It was installed in 1938 under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

In 1937, Remo Scardigli created a redwood sculpture of Father Junipero Serra, the founder of the Spanish Mission system in 18th century Alta California.  Scardigli's work was sponsored by the Federal Art Project (FAP).  The sculpture stood for 50 years in Devendorf Park in the center of Carmel, but was removed sometime around 2015 when passions flared over the beatification of Father Serra by Pope John-Paul II and another statue of Serra at Carmel Mission was damaged. The Scardigli sculpture is reportedly in storage with the city Public Works department, as of 2023. Father Serra's remains are buried at the foot of...

"The lava rock terracing at Kawananakoa School (1934), as well as the fountain featuring bas reliefs by Margarite Blasingame, resulted from the continuation of a number of the CWA's projects by FERA." Blasingame was an American sculptor born in Honolulu in 1906. She did a number of projects under federal support during the Great Depression, including this "Hawaiian Decagonal Fountain" at the Kawananakoa School.