Lee Allen. Soil Erosion (sketch for mural). 1938
New Deal Artwork:
GSA's Inventory Project
New Deal Art Stewardship
During the New Deal era, the U.S. governme'lt administered
four separate art projects that operated from 1933 to 1943.
The projects produced thousands of paintings, sculpture,
and works on paper.
In 1934, the federal government began loaning or
allocating the movable artworks created under the New
Deal art programs to public agencies and nonprofit
institutions. The U.S. General Services Adm inistration (GSA) is
the federal agency that is responsible for inventorying these
loaned artworks.
Cataloguing Project
GSA's Fine Arts Program catalogues movable New Deal
artworks housed in nonfederal repositories . In collaboration
with repositories, GSA aims to provide a centralized
resource of information about New Deal artwork that is
readily available to museum professionals, the academic
community, art conservators, and the public at large .
For more information, please visit our website:
www.gsa.gov/finearts. If your institution houses New Deal
works of art, please send the information to:
Fine Arts Program
Office of the Chief Architect
U.S. General Services Administration
1800 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20405
wpa @gsa .gov
Front image: Federal Art Project. WPA Poster. circa 1935
I I I I I I I
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Charles T. Henry. Snowy Landscape . 1935
New Deal Artwork:
Ownership And Responsibility
The U.S. General Services Administration 's Fir.e Arts Program
Office and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) work
together to locate, identify and recover lost portable works
of art produced by artists through the New Deal era federal
art programs of the 1930s through the mid 1940s.
When a New Deal artwork is offered for sale and/or is
suspected to be federal property, OIG is notified. The
notification can be made by anyone, including, but not
limited to, the Fine Arts Program, a private indiv'dual, a
museum staff member, art dealer, appraise or lawyer. The
possessor is requested to maintain care and possession of
the artwork until research about title is complete.
If the artwork is determined to be federal property, the GSA
works with the possessor to return the work of art to federal
custody, with the ultimate goal of having the artwork
loaned to a qualifying institution.
If you are aware of a New Deal work of art that may be
federal property, please contact the GSA's Fine Arts
Program or GSA's Office of the Inspector General. The OIG
can make every effort to maintain the anonymity of those
persons who provide them information.
Contact Info:
Eric D. Radwick, Asst. Special Agent in Charge
Office of Investigations
202-252-0025 direct or 1-800-424-5210
[email protected] or [email protected]
For more information
please visit www.gsa.gov/finearts
Front image: Federal Art Project. WPA Poster. circa 1935
Howard Norton Cook, Steel/ndvstry, 1936
New Dea l Artwork:
Th e Four Visual Art Projects
Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), 1933-1934: The Public
Works of Art Project was the first federal art project for
artists. Artists were on payrolls and received weekly salaries.
The Section of Fine Arts (The Section), 1934- 1943: Originally
called the Section of Painting and Sculpture, the Section
of Fine Arts awarded commissions to artists through
competitions. The primary o bjective was to secure the
best quality artwork for installation into public buildings.
Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), 1935-1938: Though it
was under the supervision of the Treasury Department,
the Treasury Relief Art Project employed artists to create
paintings and sculptures for existing federal buildings.
Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project
(WPA/ FAP), 1935-1942: The Federal Art Project was the
largest of the New Deal art programs in both its scope
and the number of artists employed.
For more information, please visit our website:
www.gsa.gov/finearts
Or, email or mail your questions to:
Fine Arts Program
Office of the Chief Architect
U.S. General Services Administration
1800 F Street, NW
Washington , DC 20405
wpa @gsa.gov
Front image: Federal Art Project, WPA Poster. circa 1935