Bas Reliefs Sites

Citizen Genet School in East Greenbush, New York was constructed as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project from 1939-40. The building bears a 1939 cornerstone. Originally a K-12 school, the facility now houses an elementary school and central offices. Striking reliefs along the front of the building (five on each side of the main entrance) depict the attributes of society the students should strive to attain. The ten reliefs depict, respectively: Parent - Interest Kindergarten Academic Studies Social Life Manual Arts Athletics Citizenship Graduation Manhood Womanhood According to the East Greenbush Central School District, "As the United States of America was...

In 1943, Bartolo Mako sculpted a set of bas reliefs for City Hall in Burbank, CA. Two are located on the building's east and west wings, with another at the Third Street entrance. The project likely received funding from the Works Projects Administration (WPA) Art Project prior to its termination. The untitled panels on the east and west wings represent the body of peace, an eagle, soldiers, and mechanics at work on an airplane. The panel at the Third Street entrance, titled "A Tribute to Craftsmen," features workers in construction, metal working, and the aviation industry. Mako's other FAP works in the...

Harvey Government Center is home to two examples of Federal Art Project-sponsored bas reliefs. They are located in the council chambers room on the second floor of the building. "New Deal art was also installed in the Florida Keys. The two primary sculptors were Joan van Breeman and Lambert Bemelman. One of Bemelman's pieces is still extant at the Hurricane Memorial at Mile Marker 81.5. Van Breeman created a number of bas relief sculptures for public schools built by the WPA in the Upper Keys (to replace public schools destroyed by hurricanes). One of van Breeman's work now is on display...

In 1938, artist Bartolo Mako created a bas-relief sculpture for Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA. The relief is located above the entrance to the liberal arts building, which was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. Cast in concrete, the relief features historically important intellectuals—scientists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, engineers, astronomers, and philosophers— including Euclid, Archemedes, Plato, Aristotle, (Luigi) Galviani, (Isaac) Newton, (Benjamin) Franklin, (Antoine) Lavoisier, (Leon) Foucault, and Galileo (Galilei). Mako was likely commissioned by the Federal Art Project (FAP), as sculptor Merrell Gage had been two years earlier to create a frieze and free-standing pylon for the south entrance...

The Jefferson nickel, an essential coin in Americans' pockets for over fifty years, was designed and first minted during the New Deal. On March 6, 1938, The Sunday Star newspaper (Washington, DC) reported that, “The Section of Painting and Sculpture, Procurement Division, Treasury Department, announces a competition for a design for a new 5-cent coin, to be known as the ‘Jefferson Nickel.’” The award was $1,000 (about $20,000 in 2021 dollars). The judges of the competition were: Nellie Tayloe Ross, director of the U.S. Mint; Sidney Waugh, creator of several New Deal artworks; Albert Stewart, whose sculptures adorn the San Francisco Mint;...

In 1934, with Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) funding, Sargent Johnson created an organ screen for the California School for the Blind in Berkeley. Today, the organ screen—a 22-foot-long redwood relief of musicians, animals, birds, and plants—is located at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. Two years after creating the organ screen, Johnson was hired by the Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project (WPA-FAP) as a senior sculptor; soon he was promoted to unit supervisor. Under the auspices of the FAP, Johnson completed a companion relief for the School for the Blind to be...

A 10 by 12 foot relief map of the Los Padres National Forest was made in 1934 by enrollees of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The map is based on Forest Service and US Geological Survey maps of the area and was intended to be used in support of fighting forest fires. The plaque on the map tells us it was constructed at the CCC Camp at Castella CA near Mt. Shasta. The relief map was first displayed at the California International Exhibition in San Diego in 1935, then installed in the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in 1936...

The historic post office in Park Rapids, Minnesota houses a collection of New Deal wooden reliefs created by Alonzo Hauser: "Park Service Symbol," "Indian," and "Lumberjack in Setting." The works were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed and installed in 1941.

Sculptor Merrell Gage created a three-panel bas relief above the entrance to the South Pasadena High School Auditorium in South Pasadena, CA, likely with Federal Arts Project (FAP) funding. Gage, an instructor at the University of Southern California and at the Chouinard Art Institute, served as judge for the FAP. His own New Deal–funded works in the region include a frieze and free-standing pylon at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, CA.

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

Under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), artist Rex Sorensen created a pair of wooden relief sculptures. One depicts a woman, boy, cougar and deer with a tree in the background; the other depicts a man bent over a deer. Now located in the library at Virgil Middle School in Los Angeles, CA, the rear of each relief is inscribed with the artist's name and "WPA Federal Art Project."

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the reconstruction of Washington Middle School in Long Beach, CA, after the school was heavily damaged in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The school reopened in 1935. The school's website gives a description of the building's exterior artworks: "Washington's design details combine characteristics from all three phases of the Art Deco and Art Moderne architecture. The exterior has Streamline Moderne details. There is a low-relief profile of George Washington (1732-99) above the main entryway on Cedar Avenue. Recessed double vertical lines create the illusion of a two-story lobby area. The two Cedar Avenue entrances...