June by Alexander Dux. 1938.
Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, WPA Poster Collection, reproduction number LC-USZC4-7679.
June “is bustin’ out all over” in this illustration taken from a calendar created by the New York City Poster Division in 1938 to show government officials the skilled artistic work the Federal Art Project was doing for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Reminiscent of Coney Island, the artist is obviously a New Yorker.
Care to learn more about posters created for the WPA’s Federal Art Project? Visit By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA. 1936-1943.
The By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943 collection consists of 908 boldly colored and graphically diverse original posters produced from 1936 to 1943 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress’s collection of more than 900 is the largest. These striking silkscreen, lithograph, and woodcut posters were designed to publicize health and safety programs; cultural programs including art exhibitions, theatrical, and musical performances; travel and tourism; educational programs; and community activities in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.
The WPA’s Federal Art Project was one of the first federally funded programs to support the arts in the US.
~MadSilence
Jun 13, 2009 @ 23:51:59
Thanks for this post and the link. What a treasure trove! I’ll enjoy browsing.