Public Works of Art Project (N.Y.)
Size: 0.4 linear ft. (700 items)
Summary: Receipts for works of art deposited with the New York Regional Committee by the Public Works of Art Project. Receipts state the artists' names, addresses, employment dates, amount, medium and location of work.
PWAP, the first of the New Deal art programs, was established under the Department of the Treasury in December 1933 to assist unemployed artists by enabling them to work on the decoration of non-federal public buildings. Although it lasted only until the following summer, it engaged nearly 4,000 artists in all parts of the country and served as an important precedent for subsequent federal art programs, such as the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. The PWAP divided the 48 states into 16 regions in order to administer its programs more efficiently.
Provenance unknown.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
PWAP records of the New York Regional Committee, 1933-1934. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Through collecting, preserving, and providing access to our collections, the Archives inspires new ways of interpreting the visual arts in America and allows current and future generations to piece together the nation’s rich artistic and cultural heritage.
