WPA
Works Progress Administration
(1933-1943)
During the Depression era,
President Roosevelt recognized the plight of artists.
The WPA commissioned paintings and sculpture for the embellishment of
newly constructed buildings, post offices and courthouses.
In
addition to providing work relief to suffering artists, these
New Deal initiatives produced the first major body of public American art.
(WPA Artwork in Non-Federal Repositories, Dec. 1999)