This paper examines the Federal Art Project (FAP), established in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal relief efforts. It traces the program's origins, leadership under director Holger Cahill, and its dual objectives of employing unemployed artists and supplying artwork to public institutions. The paper discusses FAP's operational scope across all forty-eight states, its community art centers, and its preference for figurative over abstract art. It also addresses the program's lasting cultural impact, the challenges faced by abstract painters working under FAP constraints, and the program's eventual dissolution at the onset of World War II.
The Federal Art Project (FAP) was founded in 1935 to offer work assistance for artists working in different media with varying levels of experience. Holger Cahill, a curator and folk art professional, was chosen as the program's director. Similar to other federal cultural projects of that time, the program aimed to bring artists and art into the daily lives of communities throughout the United States via community exhibitions, classes, and art centers (LOC, n.d.).
In the U.S., the FAP operated in all forty-eight states. Its main outreach program focused on art education for children. The Federal Art Project maintained no fewer than 100 community centers across the country, managed art programs, and conducted art exhibitions showcasing works produced by both children and adults. Numerous prints, posters, paintings, sculptures, and murals were produced under this program and subsequently donated to libraries, galleries, schools, and other institutions. These programs generated admiration and a new awareness of American art while also providing employment for struggling artists. The program came to an end with the onset of World War II, as national efforts became concentrated on the war (Wilkinson, 2011).
FAP had two primary objectives: (1) to provide artworks for non-federal public buildings, and (2) to offer jobs for unemployed artists on relief rolls (Wilkinson, 2011). The WPA/FAP recruited the majority of its artists from relief rolls while retaining a small number of non-relief artists for supervisory positions.
Under the guidance of Holger Cahill, the FAP operated in all forty-eight states and established divisions covering easel murals, drawings, paintings, posters, and sculptures.
The FAP division of the WPA favored figurative art over abstract art — a tendency that led many of the century's greatest abstract painters to produce work that was uncharacteristic of their natural style.
One of the FAP's most significant outreach efforts consisted of approximately 100 community art centers, which offered art classes for children as well as for developing artists. Combined, these programs fostered admiration and a new awareness of the American visual arts (Wolf, 2013).
The United States remained at the center of a worldwide economic depression during the mid-1930s. In an effort to provide economic relief to citizens — particularly artists who were struggling to find work — President Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA), created under Federal Project One. Several months later, a WPA subdivision known as the Federal Art Project (FAP) was formed.
"Social Realism preference and abstract artist tensions"
"Artworks lost and program's wartime end"
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