New Deal Art

Know about the book -

New Deal Art is written by John P. Murphy and published by Thames & Hudson. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0500779082 (ISBN 10) and 9780500779088 (ISBN 13).

Franklin D. Roosevelts landslide victory in the USA's 1932 presidential election gave him a mandate to institute a 'New Deal' for US citizens, and by so doing offer them 'a more abundant life'. For a decade between 1933 and 1943 the New Deal art programs marked the largest federal investment in the arts in the history of the country. Tens of thousands of artists and artisans across the country produced some 2,500 murals, 100,000 easel paintings, 17,000 sculptures, and 200,000 prints. How should we understand the history and legacy of the New Deal art programs today? Marshalling new scholarship and original research, New Deal Art highlights the contributions of a diverse range of women, immigrant, working class, Indigenous, Black, Asian, Jewish, Latinx and LGBTQ+ artists. While previous studies have focused on the personalities and politics of government administrators, this book offers a 'history from below' that stresses the role of artists as activists through collective efforts such as the Artists Union and the American Artists Congress. It explores topics that traditionally fall outside the purview of art history: art as therapy in prisons and hospitals, childrens art, community art centres and art education, and the place of handicrafts and applied arts. Above all, New Deal Art centres the question of art and democracy: What if art was treated as a natural resource to which all citizens had an equal right?