19 34: ANew Oeal for Artists a new look at the art from the 1934 Public Works of Art Program
W
h en Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated in M arch of 1933, he wasted no time in pushing fo rward with his promised N ew D eal programs. By the end of the year, the US Treasury D epartment had appointed artist and lobbyist Edward Bruce administrator of the first federally supported arts program, the Public Works of An Proj ect (PWAP), the predecessor of the Federal Art Project, which was started in 193 5 as part of the Wo rks Progress Administration. Bruce was tasked with organizing the project, which would serve two purposes: providing paying work fo r thousands of unemployed artists and providing public works of art access ible to the general citizenry. Edwa rd Bruce began by co nsulting with museum directors and communi ty leaders across the country. Individuals were selected fo r their artistic talents and on their need fo r employment. They were paid the sam e level as other crafts m en , with wages ranging from $23 to $42 per week, and in most circumstances were to supply their own materials. With financing coming from public fundin g, the resulting artwo rk was to belong to the public and be displayed in any building or park that was supported by federal, state, or municipal taxes. All at once, artists, writers, and playwrights were acknowledged by the government as workers, contributing to the American identi ty in a positive way and worthy of public support. The government sought to both keep food on their tables and enrich the lives of the general public, many of whom had limited, if any, exposure to professional art. Painter George Biddle, a personal friend of Roosevelt's, wrote that the N ew Deal had m ade ''America art conscious as never before," while at the sam e time making the artist "conscious of the fac t that he is of service to his community." Most of the participating artists enj oyed complete freedom in their work, with the exception of a handful of pieces where sketches were required to be sent in ahead of completion. The guidelines were simple: artists were directed to portray "the American Scene." By June of 1934, just seven months afrer it began , the PWAP had produced 15,663 works of art, made by 3,749 artists Waterfront Scene by Pino ]anni, oil on canvas. at a cost of $ 1,3 12,000 . Thirty-two paintings were selected to hang in the Roosevelt Pino ]anni's depiction ofNew York City's East River docks is all about hard work. Two burly White House, seven of which are included in Longshoreman are about to unload freight from a cargo ship; towering cranes and booms a new exhibition at the Smithsonian Ameristand by to Lift the heaviest cargo ashore. A nearby tug works with harbor pilots to guide the can Art Museum. O f the mo re than 3,000 ships to and from the piers. A ship is just out of view, but its hawser is in view, secured to a works created in th e 193 0s in the museum's bollard. Despite the Low hourly wages, dockworkers were desperate for scarce jobs during the collection, 180 are fro m the PWAP The Depression. In January 1934, when ]anni was creating this painting, a fight broke out among ''American Scene" as interpreted by PWAP hundreds of Longshoremen who were competing for work. artists includes landscapes and urban scenes, The red band around the tug's funnel is the only note of bright color. Heavy black outof course, but also many depictions of induslines define the powerful forms of the men and the harbor. ]anni's painting ofthe noisy, dirty try, people at work and at leisure, peoplewaterfront is as vigorous and straightforward as the Longshoremen's Labor. 22
SEA HISTORY 128, AUTUMN 2009