Description: A mural of a train station in the center of a town photographed for the Ohio WPA Art Program. The artist is unknown. The Federal Art Project (FAP) was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration. On April 8, 1935, the United States Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, which was hoped would allow Americans to cope with the Great Depression. Creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the most important accomplishment of this Act. This government office hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects. During its existence, the WPA constructed more than 600,000 miles of roads and built or repaired more than 124,000 bridges, 125,000 public buildings, 8,000 parks, and 850 airport runways. The WPA also included programs to support education and the arts, providing employment opportunities for out of work educators and artists of all varieties. Although the United States Congress reduced funding for the program in 1939, the WPA remained in operation until June 30, 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F09_009_001
Subjects: Murals--1930-1950; Mural painting and decoration--Ohio; War propaganda--United States; Federal Art Project; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: A WPA art project in Urbana, Ohio depicting World War I era soldiers marching away from a large skull on the horizon. The Federal Art Project (FAP) was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration. On April 8, 1935, the United States Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, which was hoped would allow Americans to cope with the Great Depression. Creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the most important accomplishment of this Act. This government office hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects. During its existence, the WPA constructed more than 600,000 miles of roads and built or repaired more than 124,000 bridges, 125,000 public buildings, 8,000 parks, and 850 airport runways. The WPA also included programs to support education and the arts, providing employment opportunities for out of work educators and artists of all varieties. Although the United States Congress reduced funding for the program in 1939, the WPA remained in operation until June 30, 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F09_019_001
Subjects: Murals--1930-1950; Mural painting and decoration--Ohio--Urbana; War propaganda--United States; Federal Art Project; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Urbana (Ohio); Champaign County (Ohio)