Udall Department of the Interior Building: Warneke and Stackpole Reliefs - Washington DC

State:: WASHINGTON-DC
Site Type:: Art Works, Sculpture and Bas Relief
New Deal Agencies:: Arts Programs, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)
Started:: 1939
Completed:: 1940
Artists:: Heinz Warneke, Ralph Stackpole
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: Yes
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC, by some of the finest American artists of the time.

Two large bas-relief panels are mounted on either side of the stage of the auditorium, one by Heinz Warneke and one by Ralph Stackpole. Warneke’s was commissioned in 1937 by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and installed in 1939; Stockpole’s was commissioned in 1938 and installed in 1940. The panels are 10′ high by 4′ wide. Warneke’s is cast stone and Stockpole’s is Indiana limestone.

Heinz Warneke treats the “Lewis and Clark Expedition” and Stockpole portrays “Powell Exploring the Grand Canyon”. When “Warneke learned that Stackpole intended a water scene,… he changed his portrayal of Lewis and Clark to be one of them on land.” (wikipedia.org)

The Department of Interior Museum offers regular artworks tours; check their website for information and registration.

For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault 1986 (below – available online). Artworks begin on p. 110.

Source notes

Look, David and Carole Perrault. The Interior Building: Its Architecture and Its Art. Washington DC: US Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1986. pp. 110-172. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015029850214&view=1up&seq=1

Department of the Interior

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stackpole

https://chnm.gmu.edu/newdeal/ndc/archives/public.html

Site originally submitted by Charles Swaney on March 22, 2015.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.