Art In Action: The Works Progress Administration
By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association
The Great Depression in this country ran from 1929 to 1943, and was largely helped by the advent of World War II when it put thousands to work providing our great military their many needs. Before the war, however, was a tragic story, with many begging for work, living in little more than tar paper shacks, and everything citizens needed in limited supply. It was a very dark time for the United States.
The term starving artist may not have begun with the depression, but it certainly fit the lifestyle of many in that profession. The Federal Government, along with other agencies, such as the U.S. Postal Service, came to the aid of many such needs for employment.
During the time of this government-funded Federal Art Project the Works Progress Administration was responsible for giving employment to hundreds of artists who had to prove their impoverishment to be selected. One of the artists we are going to discuss actually gave up a fairly decent job in order to declare his impoverishment so he could work on a big government project and establish high-level credentials. Artists are not immune from greed, corruption and temptation.
Many of the artists hired were given projects that required more visual reality and life-like representation. It was an odd mixture because many of those actually chosen did not do that type of art, but had a bent toward abstract expressionistic works.
Artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Thomas Hart Benton, and Willem de Kooning were forced to do figurative art. One wonders why more figurative artists were not chosen rather than those in the abstract world if the projects required that type of talent. Such are the whims of government.
An art critic and museum curator named Holger Cahill became the Director of the Federal Art Project which operated in 48 states. Cahill created about 100 community art centers around the country that offered classes in various types of art for children plus enriching classes for professional artists and those wishing to pursue a career in art.
During the time it was operational, the Federal Art Project portion of the WPA hired enough artists that more than 100,000 paintings, posters and murals were created along with more than 18,000 sculptures. Unfortunately many of these wonderful works are lost. One set of marvelous canvases were sold at auction for so much per pound. They were purchased in bulk by a plumber who decided to use them as insulation around pipes, only to discard and destroy them when the paint warmed, created an odor, and melted the mixture which started coming off. What a loss.
A small frame shop purchased quite a number of paintings as well for only $3 each canvas. He cleverly picked up a nice investment with works by Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and others.
We are going to spend the next several weeks covering the lives of many of these artists who evolved out of the WPA times and we are going to learn much about how the program worked, who was chosen, then why and how it has impacted our appreciation for art. A fascinating series, so please follow up next week.
Upcoming and current events:
- Teresa Smith’s great exhibit is now open at the Warsaw City Hall gallery. 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Free admission.
- More info on LAA can be found at www.lakelandartassociation.org or on Facebook. Call (574) 594-9950 or contact Darla at [email protected]