WPA Murals and American Abstract Artists
Restoration and Recovery of Lost New Deal Artwork
Over 430 murals decorate the walls of schools, libraries, courtrooms, hospitals and public buildings in New York City. These murals include 19th century Beaux-Arts allegories, murals and portable mural panels from the New Deal era, and contemporary artwork from the 20th and 21st centuries. Many people are unaware of their existence.
Some of these murals have been preserved. Other murals have suffered damage from neglect, been painted over, removed from walls and stored, destroyed in the demolition of their buildings, suffered physical damage from mistreatment, and some have simply disappeared.
In 1991 the Municipal Art Society of New York formed the Adopt-a-Mural program to save these important works of art. Organizations like the Municipal Art Society of New York raise money, through programs like Adopt-a-Mural and Adopt-a-Monument, to restore public artwork including murals created under the New Deal. Working with the Art Commission of the City of New York, MAS identifies the most endangered murals and monuments and then finds corporations, foundations and private individuals willing to underwrite the restoration.
In addition to painting murals, New Deal artists were hired to create tens of thousands of portable works of art for the United States Government. This government owned artwork was loaned or allocated to public agencies and nonprofit institutions. During the decades that followed the Great Depression, a number of circumstances have contributed to the separation of the artwork from the borrowers. In some cases, moveable New Deal artwork has changed hands and pieces have found their way into private possession.
The U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Fine Arts Program Office and the Office of the 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 and 1940s. 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 loaning the artwork to a qualifying institution for the American public to appreciate and enjoy. New Deal art programs included the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP); the Section of Fine Arts (SECTION), previously called the Section of Paintings and Sculpture; the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP); and the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP).
Details about New Deal artwork ownership and how to contact the GSA with information about New Deal artwork that may be federal property is available on their website.
GSA’s Fine Arts Program: www.gsa.gov/finearts
GSA OIG Hotline: 1-800-424-5210