The Making of a WPA Inventory

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The New Deal cared a lot about books--producing, consuming, maintaining them.


The New Deal cared a lot about books–producing, consuming, maintaining them.  SourceWordPress, 2010

I recently completed a new project for the Living New Deal: a list of about 1,500 writings, created between 1935 and 1943, by the Federal Writers’ Project and the WPA Writers’ Program. The writings include both published and unpublished items, and the titles came primarily from two sources: a list compiled by a Florida book seller in the 1970s and a list created by a private firm working in collaboration with the Library of Congress in 1987. Our list, which also includes contemporary scholarship, is organized alphabetically—by state and then by title—and uses a similar (but even more basic) style as the sources listed above. The goal was to make it reader friendly.

 

I learned two things while I was working on this project. First, creating an inventory of 1,500 writings is somewhere between less-than-fun and merciless torture. The second thing I learned is that the writers of the WPA wrote on a stunning variety of topics – even more topics than I had thought. We’re all familiar with the popular American Guide Series, detailing attractions and history in all states and select cities. But consider some of these other titles, which speak to local interests and idiosyncrasies: National Guard of Wyoming, Wisconsin Circus Lore, Churches of Roanoke, Baseball in Old Chicago, Recreational Activities: Christmas Tree Ornaments, Winter Hikes, Air Raid Warden’s Manual, Seminole Indian Canoes, and Gumbo Ya Ya.

 

And, really, this list has plenty of room to grow. For example, we could add research reports by WPA workers (traffic studies, disease studies, hydrographic surveys, etc.); books transcribed into Braille by WPA workers; or inventories of church records created by the WPA’s Historical Records Survey to name a few. Or our list could evolve into a larger “New Deal Inventory” that would include reports and writings by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and more. How large could such a list grow? 3,000 items? 4,000? 10,000? Perhaps one day we’ll have a list of every report, publication, manuscript, bulletin, and inventory made by FDR’s alphabet soup of agencies. Check out what we already have in our Bibliography.

Brent McKee is a Living New Deal Research Associate (the first, in fact!) and a core member of the LND team. He lives in West Virginia.

Carroll Park Playground Sculpture – Oak Park IL

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The stone sculpture at this site, entitled “Alice in Wonderland,” was likely made by Emmanuel Viviano with WPA Federal Art Project funding. Based on this post from 2009 0n the MIR Appraisal Services blog, the sculpture may have been relocated:

Last Sunday, I attempted an “Emmanuel Viviano/ WPA Field Trip” all about Chicago—I wanted to scout out the Viviano public art in our city and report back to you. Sadly, I couldn’t locate any of his works… from the Carroll Playground in Oak Park (which once featured a statue and fountain of Alice), to the Nancy Hill School in Aurora (once the site of Viviano’s sculptures of a deer and hippopotamus)… (https://art-appraisals-and-research.com/blog/?p=1367)

Oak Park Historical Society Murals – Oak Park IL

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Treasure IslandSailor with Spyglass

Frances Badger completed these two oil-on-canvas murals, entitled “Sailor with Spyglass” and “Treasure Island,” in 1936 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. They were originally painted for the Louis Stevenson Playground but have since been moved to the second floor of the Oak Park Historical Society, where they were restored in 1996. A third mural at that site has been lost.

Badger “was one of the foremost female WPA artists in Illinois. In addition to her murals in Oak Park, she also painted four murals for what was then a girls’ detention center in Joliet and still has her work displayed in Chicago’s Union League Club.

“Badger was a victim of sexism by jealous male artists who pushed her out of the WPA before she could begin several other works…. Although she continued to paint until 1994, Badger never again painted on the grand scale of the murals she did during the WPA’s heyday, said [Barton] Faist, an art historian who specializes in works of the 1930s to the ’50s.” (Chicago Tribune)

 

Norwalk Community College: Avison Mural – Norwalk CT

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George Avison’s 1937 mural “The Duke vs. The King” was commissioned for the Center School (since destroyed) by the WPA Federal Art Project. It is now located at the Norwalk Community College.

Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 9’10” x 3’5″
Restoration Info: Property of City of Norwalk, CT, WPA Art Collection. Restored ca.1986

Administration Building (ENMU): Moylan Mural – Portales NM

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“The 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes”
Medium: tempera on plaster

The mural occupies a stairwell. All its components cannot be viewed at once. The following text is quoted from an informational postcard handout available on site:

In 1937, the Work Projects Administration of the Federal Government established a program of murals in public buildings throughout the United States. Eastern New Mexico University made application to the Work Projects Administration for a mural to be painted in the Administration Building. Following approval of the application, a mural to represent the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes in the Holy Bible was chosen. The Work Projects Administration employed Lloyd Moylan of Albuquerque and Taos as the artist and the University supplied the paint and supplies. Mr. Moylan and his assistant scaled the walls in the center of the Administration Building for five months painting the mural. The scripture is painted on the face of the pillars on the second floor. The government officials who inspected the mural after it was finished informed ENMU officials it was “one of the most beautiful murals in any public building in the United States.”

Billie Jean King Main Library Murals – Long Beach CA

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Suzanne Miller painted a nine-panel series of murals in 1937 under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP). Known both as “Children’s Stories” and “Scenes from English Language Literature,” the murals were originally located at the old Lincoln Park Main Library in Long Beach, CA. After it burned down, the murals were relocated to the new Billie Jean King Main Library.

The murals include scenes drawn from Hiawatha (Longfellow), Il Penseroso (Milton), Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith), Rip Van Winkle (Irving), King Solomon (Old Testament), Man with the Hoe (Markham), Alice in Wonderland (Carroll), Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (Gray), Complete Angler (Walton), Faerie Queene (Spenser), Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan), L’Allegro (Milton), Lady of Shalot (Tennyson), The Tempest (Shakespeare), and Canterbury Tales (Chaucer).

Miller also completed murals at Jane Addams Elementary School and Franklin Classical Middle School in Long Beach.

Post Office Relief – Iron River MI

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The wood carving, “Paul Bunyan Straightening Out the Round River,” was created by Milton Horn in 1941 as a Section of Fine Arts-funded project. The sculpture hangs in the lobby of the Iron River, Michigan post office.