NCMA explores "Art Across America" during the Great Depression

The faces stare back at you - the haunted eyes of a sharecropper in a withering cornfield, an old woman sitting in on her farmhouse porch, office workers getting their termination notices - scenes of a bleak period in American life. This is the art of the Depression, created by impoverished artists who were determined to represent our nation in a realistic, honest form, with all of its struggles and dreams for a better future.It's an era that has been relegated to the history books, with many of the artists of that period unfamiliar to the public. Now, in its newly opened exhibit, "The W.P.A. Era: Art Across America," Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) brings the Great Depression years and those artists who documented it to life. The exhibit showcases some neglected artists and gives a fresh perspective on those years of crisis."One of the things we are trying to do is establish a moment in history," said NCMA director and chief curator Constance Schwartz. "This is not a repeat of what people have learned in school. We want to explore different concepts, which is what the exhibit covers.""Young people," Schwartz added, "really don't know about the Depression and the extraordinary role FDR played in helping the country rise above it. There's a lot to be learned from this exhibit."The exhibition examines how artists responded to the Great Depression and how those poverty-stricken artists of that period were assisted by the Works Progress Adminstration and other governmental agencies that supported art and artists during those years. Selected examples of the era's major artists - including, Jackson Pollock, Thomas Hart Benton, Arshile Gorky, Stuart Davis, Mark Rothko, Ben Shahn, Reginald Marsh, Paul Cadmus, and Philip Evergood - display the rich aesthetic dialogue of the time. The works, some created under government sponsorship and some not, tell the story of those years of hardship. In the process, the exhibit explores the debate between progressive and conservative factions of the artistic community, the "Regionalists" and "Social Realists," intertwined with politics of the day.Upon his election in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt assured a terrified nation that it would survive and beat back the unprecedented economic disaster that was threatening the very fabric of the nation. Among the massive public works projects President Roosevelt initiated, was the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. Designed to help artists survive, it began in 1935 and gave muralists, painters, sculptors, printmakers an opportunity to create and teach art. The results of some of their work can still be seen on public buildings today: in schools, post offices and government buildings."It was an opportunity to create art on public buildings and tell the story of America," explained Schwartz. "FDR put the artists back to work and gave them hope."Besides the murals, smaller projects and paintings were created, many of which become government property, and for which artists received payment. Gradually those paintings were sold and artists' livelihoods saved. The high point of all this creative activity was reached in the late 1930s and gradually wound down as the nation became involved in World War II. It was an American Renaissance of sorts.During those difficult days, the routines of life went on. Not entirely bleak and depressive, the works reflect the human spirit. As Schwartz put it, "within the grittiness, there was joy." People visited Coney Island, went ice skating in Central Park, enjoyed times with their families. It's all there for visitors to see.

The W.P.A. Era: Art Across America