Treasury Section of Fine Arts

The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as the Section of Fine Arts), commonly known as the Section, was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. It continued until 1943.

Like the Works Progress Administration, the Section was part of a government project aimed at providing work for Americans throughout the Great Depression during the 1930s. The Section's main function was to select high quality art to decorate public buildings in the form of murals, making art accessible to all people. Because post offices were usually visited by everyone, they were the places selected to display these projects. Commissioned artists were provided with the guidelines and themes for each project, and scenes of local interest and events were generally represented. The muralist movement was inspired by the Mexican muralists, but Section murals did not portray the harsh social or economic realities of the time. Rather, they celebrated historical events and courageous acts. Many of these murals have disappeared, or fallen into disrepair, others have been restored thanks to renewed interest in their historical and artistic significance. Painters of these murals include Ralf Henricksen, Henrietta Shore and Suzanne Scheuer.

In existence during the Great Depression in the United States, the Section of Painting and Sculpture was a public art program administered by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Like other New Deal public art programs, the Section (as it was commonly called) was designed to increase employment among artists, but it was unusual in awarding commissions competitively, based on artistic talent. In total, the Section commissioned more than 1,300 murals and 300 sculptures, many of which were placed in post offices throughout the United States of America.

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