1934: A New Deal for Artists
Ann Prentice Wagner. Essay by Roger G. Kennedy. Introduction by Elizabeth Broun, Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Published by GILES in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C
Publish Date — October 2009 (UK and USA)
Dimensions — 156 pages, 279 x 254mm (10 x 11 in.), portrait
Illustrations — 95 colour and 12 b&w illustrations
Hardback price — UK£35.00/US$49.95
ISBN — 1-904832-67-9
ISBN — 978-1-904832-67-6
Book Details (pdf) — 1934-AI-LR.pdf
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Press Release — A New Deal for Artists
Sales Points
“These artists created exuberant, colorful, serious, and diverse works that were snapshots of life at that time.” Pittsburgh Tribune
Draws on 56 vibrant paintings from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s unique collection created for the Public Works of Art program during the Great Depression
Invaluable for students in schools and colleges
Publication accompanies a major touring exhibition until 2013
About the Book
1934: A New Deal for Artists celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Public Works of Art Program, drawing on the Smithsonian American Art Museum's unparalleled collection of paintings created for it. In 1934, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the U.S. Government created its first program to support the arts. The PWAP lasted for six months, from mid-December 1933 to June 1934, and artists from across the United States were encouraged to depict the American scene, and boost morale through art. The Program paid artists to paint regional, recognizable subjects—ranging from portraits to cityscapes, from images of city life to landscapes and depictions of rural life—that reminded the public of the essential American values of hard work, community and optimism. The 55 paintings in this volume are a lasting visual record of America at a specific moment in time; a response to an economic situation that is all too familiar today.
The exhibition will travel to the following venues: The Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh January 30 through April 30 2010; Fort Wayne Museum, Indiana, May 12 until August 22 2010; The What Com Museum, October 16 2010 to January 6 2011; The Davis Museum, Wellesley College, February 3 until June 2011; Mennello Museum, August-October 2011; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, November 5 2011 until January 29 2012; Muskegon Museum, February 16 to May 6 2012; Portland Museum of Art, October 25 2012 to January 20 2013. Other venues tbc.
