Clinton Federal Building: Waugh Sculpture - Washington DC

State:: WASHINGTON-DC
Site Type:: Art Works, Sculptures
New Deal Agencies:: Treasury Department, Federal & Military Operations, Arts Programs, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)
Started:: 1936
Completed:: 1936
Artist:: Sidney Biehler Waugh
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: Unknown
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

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 jurisdiction of the newly-created Public Buildings Administration (PBA) in 1939 (the PBA itself was a subdivision of the Federal Works Agency). The Section adorned many post offices and other federal buildings with murals, sculptures, carvings, and reliefs.