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New Deal Art
A vibrant and insightful account of the diverse artists and activists who made up the New Deal art programs and the influential legacy of the artwork they left behind.
What role should the arts play in a democracy? At the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal turned crisis into opportunity. Through unprecedented federal funding for the arts, the New Deal launched the careers of artists such as Philip Guston, Dorothea Lange, Jacob Lawrence, Alice Neel, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. They belonged to the era’s bold vision of cultural art by the people, for the people.
Brimming with vivid images and stories, New Deal Art offers a dynamic survey of this transformative period. The book highlights a diverse generation of artists who challenged dominant narratives of American history and identity. Through state-sponsored murals, paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, and posters, these artists redefined the role of art in society. They formed the first Artists’ Union and fought fascism through collective action. They reimagined art as a public good rather than a private luxury.
New Deal Art confronts issues relevant freedom and censorship, race and representation, art and activism, politics and propaganda. In an era of dwindling public arts funding, the New Deal’s goal of broadening access to art and culture remains as urgent as ever.
What role should the arts play in a democracy? At the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal turned crisis into opportunity. Through unprecedented federal funding for the arts, the New Deal launched the careers of artists such as Philip Guston, Dorothea Lange, Jacob Lawrence, Alice Neel, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. They belonged to the era’s bold vision of cultural art by the people, for the people.
Brimming with vivid images and stories, New Deal Art offers a dynamic survey of this transformative period. The book highlights a diverse generation of artists who challenged dominant narratives of American history and identity. Through state-sponsored murals, paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, and posters, these artists redefined the role of art in society. They formed the first Artists’ Union and fought fascism through collective action. They reimagined art as a public good rather than a private luxury.
New Deal Art confronts issues relevant freedom and censorship, race and representation, art and activism, politics and propaganda. In an era of dwindling public arts funding, the New Deal’s goal of broadening access to art and culture remains as urgent as ever.
336 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 21, 2025
Very comprehensive and nuanced excavation of the interestingly mixed bag of fascinating and rich state-sponsored, activist art that existed in the USA before intellectuals and the CIA decided that being funded by millionaires (and the CIA) was the only way art could be 'autonomous'.
June 16, 2026
New Deal art encompasses a notable epoch in history set after the first world war up until the beginning of the second world war. Within these few years, artists faced some of the worst hardships (the Great Depression) to some of the most admirable organizational efforts that truly reflect the great sense of community and solidarity represented in New Deal Art.
After Black Tuesday and Hoover's presidential election loss (a result of his helping to defeat congressional relief bills that he considered handouts), FDR's resilience against Polio and rhetoric of a "new deal for the American people" fueled excitement that won him the presidential election in 1932. He set in motion ambitious government programs to not only prop up the labor force, but to drive the economy with the help of artists. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped 8 million workers find work through infrastructure projects from coast to coast. Airports, post offices, libraries, museums, and bridges were built. With the help of painter George Biddle (a friend of FDR's), the paradigm that art could spiritually fortify a nation reeling from the Depression helped create the first New Deal art program: the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP).
The PWAP operated as an emergency relief program from Dec 1933 to Jun 1934. It paid 3,750 artists a monthly wage to make ~15,000 artworks intended for tax-funded buildings---the buildings being built by the WPA. The PWAP was succesful and the sense of optimism was present in the way that PWAP artworkls were modern, populist, and progressive. We saw an an influx of murals inspired by Mexican muralist styles made popular by Diego Rivera that became accesible to all Americans. Artworks were now present in even the most rural of post offices, which guided the New Deal spirit of making art accessible to everyone and recognizing its necessity for existence as a force in the life of this country. PWAP art is notable because of its demanded lack of nudity, lack of social propaganda, and lack of abstraction (abstraction was linked with European art and social defiance). PWAP supported American scenes that should help mollify anger and discontent. One must be critical of this, since the 1920's saw the influx of restrictive immigration policies and resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. Regionalism, or, American art rooted in heartland virtues (e.g. Grant Wood) was an art style that idealized American roots, soil, and rurality but this also did not reflect the times, as modernity advanced and saw the growth of the agriculture industry with technological advancements and evolving capitalism.
So, what does PWAP art look like? Race-conscious modernism, exalted peons and laborers, indigenous history, revolutionary martyrs, Marxist influence, with a mix of self-glorification and criticism are all present in PWAP art. Artworks depicting the working class are the most common and notable, since it represents how these artists stood in the same breadlines as everyone else during the Depression. Artists helped depict the laborers as important through these artworks and the message was made accesible throug their implementation in public spaces.
The Section of Fine Arts was another program that is notable for its contrast to WPA and PWAP art through its confrontational art. From 1934-1943, the Section sponsored competitions to hire artists to make murals and sculptures for federal buildings. This came as a result of the success of PWAP. Section muralsist confronted reconciling fundamental contradictions between the myths and realities of American history: freedom and slavery, violent conquest and peaceful settlement, industry and labor strife, progress and poverty. Unfortunately this also came with its setbacks, as art censorship, anti-immigration efforts, and lynchings were on the rise. It was difficult for women and black people to be a part of the Section, yet, it still saw a slight increase in representation. Immigrant, black, and female artists were a part of the Section, though in small numbers, and made a huge impact on representing the diversity of America.
The WPA funded the Federal Art Project (1835-1943) which was the largest cultural initiative of the New Deal, employed +5,000 artists and encompassing all arts. Where government-funded murals promised thriving workers and prosperous industries, FAP prints cast a dark and dystopian gaze over the machine age. Print workshops were funded which made art even more accessible to the public, even the blind! Yes, the FAP progressed art greatly by recognizing its importance for progressing society through difficult times. Sadly, anti-art efforts by the right prevailed at the beginning of the second world war, where funding quickly depleted from art to war. I see so many paralles with today's world.
See, when the depression hit, and millions of people were out of a job and starving, there was no such thing as a social security net: no unemployment benefits, social security, or deposit insurance. Darkenss prevailed in the 1930's, and so did it evidently prevail in art (especially lithographies) during this era. Social realism and experimentation was encouraged by artists to reflect the difficult times. Artists like Rothko, Pollock, Wood, Siporin, Charles White, Dorothea Lange, Guston, and Krasner may be the most notable of this era.
A great book for art history novices. Hats off to John P. Murphy. Accesible language and fruiftul with important history... extremely educational.
5/5
After Black Tuesday and Hoover's presidential election loss (a result of his helping to defeat congressional relief bills that he considered handouts), FDR's resilience against Polio and rhetoric of a "new deal for the American people" fueled excitement that won him the presidential election in 1932. He set in motion ambitious government programs to not only prop up the labor force, but to drive the economy with the help of artists. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped 8 million workers find work through infrastructure projects from coast to coast. Airports, post offices, libraries, museums, and bridges were built. With the help of painter George Biddle (a friend of FDR's), the paradigm that art could spiritually fortify a nation reeling from the Depression helped create the first New Deal art program: the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP).
The PWAP operated as an emergency relief program from Dec 1933 to Jun 1934. It paid 3,750 artists a monthly wage to make ~15,000 artworks intended for tax-funded buildings---the buildings being built by the WPA. The PWAP was succesful and the sense of optimism was present in the way that PWAP artworkls were modern, populist, and progressive. We saw an an influx of murals inspired by Mexican muralist styles made popular by Diego Rivera that became accesible to all Americans. Artworks were now present in even the most rural of post offices, which guided the New Deal spirit of making art accessible to everyone and recognizing its necessity for existence as a force in the life of this country. PWAP art is notable because of its demanded lack of nudity, lack of social propaganda, and lack of abstraction (abstraction was linked with European art and social defiance). PWAP supported American scenes that should help mollify anger and discontent. One must be critical of this, since the 1920's saw the influx of restrictive immigration policies and resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. Regionalism, or, American art rooted in heartland virtues (e.g. Grant Wood) was an art style that idealized American roots, soil, and rurality but this also did not reflect the times, as modernity advanced and saw the growth of the agriculture industry with technological advancements and evolving capitalism.
So, what does PWAP art look like? Race-conscious modernism, exalted peons and laborers, indigenous history, revolutionary martyrs, Marxist influence, with a mix of self-glorification and criticism are all present in PWAP art. Artworks depicting the working class are the most common and notable, since it represents how these artists stood in the same breadlines as everyone else during the Depression. Artists helped depict the laborers as important through these artworks and the message was made accesible throug their implementation in public spaces.
The Section of Fine Arts was another program that is notable for its contrast to WPA and PWAP art through its confrontational art. From 1934-1943, the Section sponsored competitions to hire artists to make murals and sculptures for federal buildings. This came as a result of the success of PWAP. Section muralsist confronted reconciling fundamental contradictions between the myths and realities of American history: freedom and slavery, violent conquest and peaceful settlement, industry and labor strife, progress and poverty. Unfortunately this also came with its setbacks, as art censorship, anti-immigration efforts, and lynchings were on the rise. It was difficult for women and black people to be a part of the Section, yet, it still saw a slight increase in representation. Immigrant, black, and female artists were a part of the Section, though in small numbers, and made a huge impact on representing the diversity of America.
The WPA funded the Federal Art Project (1835-1943) which was the largest cultural initiative of the New Deal, employed +5,000 artists and encompassing all arts. Where government-funded murals promised thriving workers and prosperous industries, FAP prints cast a dark and dystopian gaze over the machine age. Print workshops were funded which made art even more accessible to the public, even the blind! Yes, the FAP progressed art greatly by recognizing its importance for progressing society through difficult times. Sadly, anti-art efforts by the right prevailed at the beginning of the second world war, where funding quickly depleted from art to war. I see so many paralles with today's world.
See, when the depression hit, and millions of people were out of a job and starving, there was no such thing as a social security net: no unemployment benefits, social security, or deposit insurance. Darkenss prevailed in the 1930's, and so did it evidently prevail in art (especially lithographies) during this era. Social realism and experimentation was encouraged by artists to reflect the difficult times. Artists like Rothko, Pollock, Wood, Siporin, Charles White, Dorothea Lange, Guston, and Krasner may be the most notable of this era.
A great book for art history novices. Hats off to John P. Murphy. Accesible language and fruiftul with important history... extremely educational.
5/5
April 25, 2026
A Deep Understanding of New Deal Art
This book accomplishes the tasks of describing the art that was produced during the New Deal, treating the formation of the government offices that managed the programs, and discusses in detail the personalities involved, including the artists and government officials. The book also delves into the politics and cultural issues around the art. It discusses politicians who were for, and against, the New Deal arts program and the funding for the programs, and continues the discussion right to the present day. Reading this book gives one not only an understanding of New Deal art, but also an understanding of a crucial period in American art.
This book accomplishes the tasks of describing the art that was produced during the New Deal, treating the formation of the government offices that managed the programs, and discusses in detail the personalities involved, including the artists and government officials. The book also delves into the politics and cultural issues around the art. It discusses politicians who were for, and against, the New Deal arts program and the funding for the programs, and continues the discussion right to the present day. Reading this book gives one not only an understanding of New Deal art, but also an understanding of a crucial period in American art.
November 25, 2025
Excellent book on a timely topic, clearly written with vibrant illustrations depicting the work of artists who were supported by the US government during the Great Depression.
Includes all the well known images like Migrant Mother and American Gothic but I was surprised to learn about so many other incredible works made during this time, many by artists who went on to be big names like Jackson Pollock and Phillip Guston. Wonderful addition to my World of Art book collection, they're always great for inspiration!
Includes all the well known images like Migrant Mother and American Gothic but I was surprised to learn about so many other incredible works made during this time, many by artists who went on to be big names like Jackson Pollock and Phillip Guston. Wonderful addition to my World of Art book collection, they're always great for inspiration!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews