America at Work: WPA Prints from the Gibbes Collection

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America at Work: WPA Prints from the Gibbes Collection

August 25, 2006 - April 15, 2007

America at Work: WPA Prints from the Gibbes Collection, on view at the Gibbes Museum of Art August 25, 2006 - April 15, 2007, represents the initiative of the Depression-era U.S. government to revitalize the nation through the visual arts and art education. This exhibition showcases approximately 25 prints from the Gibbes' permanent collection that were created under the auspices of the Federal Art project, an initiative that provided employment for out-of work artists and created artwork for such public buildings as county courthouses, post offices and libraries.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched his ambitious Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs that sent millions of unemployed Americans back to work, including more than 5,000 artists. Under the auspices of the WPA, the Federal Art Project afforded opportunities to a diverse group of artists, including women, African-Americans and immigrants from Russia, China and other countries. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created posters, murals and paintings-some of which stand among the most significant pieces of public art in the country. The Gibbes Museum of Art houses the only collection of WPA prints in South Carolina. In 2004 the Gibbes was able to catalogue the collection through the generous support of Reba and Dave Williams, who funded the project through a grant from the Print Research Foundation, Stamford, Connecticut.

The Gibbes Museum of Art thanks the Charleston Mercury, the exclusive sponsor of America at Work: WPA Prints from the Gibbes Collection. Now in its fourth year of being in print, the Charleston Mercury impacts 40,000 affluent readers every two weeks.

Text panel from the exhibition gallery

The Federal Art Project focused on the areas of art production, art education and art research and was divided into the Mural, Easel and Graphic Arts Divisions. Artists applied to the program and were required to meet criteria of financial need and artistic ability. Those assigned to the Graphic Arts Division created over 200,000 prints for public buildings such as county courthouses, post offices and libraries. The printmaking workshops brought together artists of various backgrounds and fostered professional growth through collaboration and experimentation with new printmaking techniques.

The Gibbes is fortunate to house the only collection of WPA prints in South Carolina. The initial allocation of 114 objects was received in 1943 from the Federal Government. Little else is known about the circumstances of the allocation. At the time Robert N. S. Whitelaw was the director of the Gibbes. He likely became familiar with WPA programs when Charleston's Dock Street Theater was reconstructed with WPA funds between 1935 and 1937. In 1937, the Gibbes hosted an exhibition of WPA artists' photographs, and in 1938 the Museum's parent organization, the Carolina Art Association, assumed custody of the Dock Street Theater.

The Gibbes was able to research and catalogue the WPA print collection in 2004 through the generous support of Reba and Dave Williams, who funded the project through a grant from the Print Research Foundation, Stamford, Connecticut.

Object labels from the exhibition

Harlem River, ca. 1935

By Ann Nooney (American, 1900 - 1970)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.74

Buried Treasure, 1939

By Mabel Dwight (American, 1876 - 1955)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.72

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dwight spent her childhood in New Orleans and San Francisco. In San Francisco, she received her formal art training at the Hopkins School of Fine Art. In 1927 Dwight traveled to Paris where she discovered lithography. Though trained as a painter, she focused on printmaking for the remainder of her career. Dwight is best known for softly-rendered lithographs that capture the comedy and tragedy of the human condition. She worked for the Federal Art Project of the WPA from 1935 to 1939 and created numerous prints, such as Buried Treasure, that reflect her concern for social issues during the Great Depression.

Election Night, ca. 1935 - 1937

By Minnie Lois Murphy (American, 1901 - 1962)

Wood-block print on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.17

The New Cabin, 15/35, 1937

By Marie Bleck

Linoleum print on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.49

Abstraction #208, 1941

By Myron Kozman (American, 1916 - 2002)

Screenprint on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.70

With a stable source of income provided by the federal government, many WPA artists felt free to experiment creatively. In addition to abstract prints, Kozman created several abstract paintings for public spaces in the Chicago area while working for the WPA.

Composition, 1940

By Cleo Van Buskirk

Screenprint on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.75

The WPA workshops gave artists access to expensive printmaking equipment, which allowed experimentation with new printmaking techniques. WPA artists are credited with a number of technical innovations including the invention of carborundum etching and advances in color lithography and screenprinting.

Unemployed Worker, 1937

By Kalman M. B. Kubinyi (American, 1906 - 1973)

Etching on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.32

Raised in Cleveland, Ohio's Hungarian community, Kubinyi developed an interest in art at a young age. As a child he took classes from William Zorach (1887 - 1966) and later attended the Cleveland School of Art, graduating in 1926. In 1930 Kubinyi established the Cleveland Print Makers and served as president of the organization until 1941. When the Cleveland WPA Project was established, Kubinyi was named the head of the Graphics Division and later served as district supervisor of the entire Cleveland WPA Project. In this role he was able to share his printmaking expertise and influence a younger generation of artists.

Two on a Bench, 1939

By Eli Jacobi (American, 1898 - 1984)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.19

Born in Russia in 1898, Jacobi came to the United States in 1920 and settled in New York City. He studied at the National Academy and the Art Students League and by 1926 enjoyed a successful career as a magazine and book illustrator.

Two on a Bench documents the difficult times experienced by many during the Depression, including Jacobi, who was forced to live on the street in New York City. Relief came in 1935 when Jacobi was hired by the WPA/FAP and worked in the Graphic Arts Division until 1939.

Steve the Musician, ca. 1935

By Saul Rabino (American, 1892 - 1969)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.89

Recitation, ca. 1935

By Raphael Soyer (American, 1899 - 1987)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.112

Soyer was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1912. They settled in Brooklyn and Soyer studied at Cooper Union, the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. During the Depression, he created poignant images of the unemployed and working class citizens in New York. Soyer had a long and successful career as a realist painter and was given a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1967.

Roof and Street, 1938

By Louis Lozowick (American, 1891 - 1973)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.103

Born in Russia in 1892, Lozowick and his family moved to New York in 1906. He studied at the National Academy of Design and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Ohio State University. From 1919 to 1924 Lozowick lived in Europe, spending most of his time in Paris, Berlin and Moscow. During this period he associated with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895 - 1946), El Lissitzky (1890 - 1941) and other avant-garde Russian artists. Upon returning to New York in 1924, Lozowick explored the urban landscape through the creation of numerous lithographs. His interest in machinery and industry is evident in works such as Roof and Street. For the WPA Lozowick created prints and murals, including a mural for the New York City General Post Office.

Southbound, 16/35, 1935

By Gerardo Belfiore (American, b. 1914)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.01

Old Swede's Church, 1940

By Claude Clark (American, 1915 - 2001)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.08

From 1939 to 1942 Clark worked for the WPA Graphic Arts Division in Philadelphia. As a young African-American artist, the WPA provided opportunities that previously had not been available to Clark. At the Philadelphia workshop he was free to explore creative styles, experiment with new printmaking techniques and work collaboratively with other artists, including innovative African-American printmakers Samuel Brown (1907 - 1994), Raymond Steth (1916 - 1997) and Dox Thrash (1892 - 1965), from whom Clark learned the carborundum print process.

Saw Mill, 1937

By Chee Chin (American, 1896 - 1966)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.102

Fish Cove

By David P. Chun (American, 1898 - 1989)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.81

The Farmer, ca. 1937

By Nicholas Panesis (American, 1913 - 1967)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.90

Farm Scene #1, ca. 1935

By J. Somers

Wood-block print on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.53

New Hampshire Auction, 1935

By Blendon Reed Campbell (American, 1872 - 1969)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.113

As noted by the stamp in the lower left corner, this lithograph was created in the New York City workshop of the WPA/FAP Graphic Arts Division. The first of many workshops established by the WPA, the New York City facility was the largest and best-equipped in the nation and produced over 75,000 prints.

Sea Nets, 1938

By Raymond White Skolfield (American, 1909 - 1996)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.61

Along the Calumet, 37/50, ca. 1937

By Howard Brown

Etching on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.80

Mountain Pines, ca. 1935

By Charles Reed Gardner (American, 1901 - 1974)

Wood-block print on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.04

Planting Potatoes

By Mac (Emanuel) Raboy (American, 1914 - 1967)

Wood engraving on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.15

Raboy began his career as a printmaker working for the WPA. He became a successful cartoonist, best-known for his work on the comic books Captain Marvel, Jr. and Green Lama and the weekly comic strip Flash Gordon, which he illustrated from 1948 until his death in 1967.

Railroad Brigde, ca. 1937

By Edward Jansen

Wood-block print on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.47

The Repair Man, ca. 1935

By Leonard Pytlak (American, 1910 - 1998)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.62

Pytlak was born in Newark, New Jersey and received formal training at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art and the Art Students League. He was employed by the WPA at the New York City workshop, where he learned the silkscreen (also called serigraph) medium. Pytlak was a founding member of the National Serigraph Society and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941.

River Workers, 1938

By Carlos Anderson (American, 1905 - 1978)

Lithograph on paper

Gift of the WPA

1943.06.104

A native of Utah, Anderson's involvement with the WPA included a government commission for a twenty-four part series of paintings and drawings of historically significant buildings in Utah. Under the auspices of the WPA, Anderson also taught art classes at the Utah Arts Center. In the late 1930s he moved to New York City and continued his involvement with the WPA at the city's Graphic Arts workshop, where he created lithographs such as River Workers.

(above: Minnie Lois Murphy (American, 1901 - 1962), Election Night, ca. 1935 - 1937, Wood-block print on paper. Gift of the WPA. 1943.06.17)

(above: Edward Jansen, Railroad Bridge, Wood-block print on paper. Gift of the WPA. 1943.06.47)

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