Public Works of Art Project

The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a program to employ artists, as part of the New Deal, during the Great Depression. It was the first such program, running from December 1933 to June 1934. It was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department and paid for by the Civil Works Administration.

The purpose of the PWAP was "to give work to artists by arranging to have competent representatives of the profession embellish public buildings." Artists were told that the subject matter had to be related to the "American scene". Artworks from the project were shown or incorporated into a variety of locations, including the White House and House of Representatives.

Artists participating in the project were paid wages of $38 – $46.50/week. Participants were required to be professional artists, and in total, 3,749 artists were hired, and 15,663 works were produced.

The project was succeeded by the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration.

The largest of the projects sponsored by the PWAP were the murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower, employing a total of 44 artists and assistants, begun in December 1933 and completed in June 1934. Many of the muralists were faculty members or former students of the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA). Among the lead artists were Maxine Albro, Victor Arnautoff, Jane Berlandina, Ray Bertrand, Roy Boynton, Ralph Chesse, Ben Cunningham, Rinaldo Cuneo, Mallette Harold Dean, Parker Hall, Edith Hamlin, George Albert Harris, William Hesthal, John Langley Howard, Lucien Labaudt, Gordon Langdon, Jose Moya del Pino, Otis Oldfield, Frederick E. Olmsted, Suzanne Scheuer, Ralph Stackpole, Edward Terada, Frede Vidar, Clifford Wight, and Bernard Zakheim.

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