The Treasury Relief Art Project was created July 21, 1935,[1] with an allocation of $530,784 from the Works Progress Administration. The project was conceived and overseen by Treasury Department arts administrator Edward Bruce. Artist Olin Dows was chief of the Treasury Relief Art Project;[2]: xxiv–xxx Cecil H. Jones, who later succeeded Dows, was assistant chief. Forbes Watson was director.[3] Unlike the concurrent Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture, TRAP was a work-relief program, subject to the income and employment standards of the WPA.[2]: xxix The September 1935 announcement of the program estimated that it would employ 400 to 500 artists.[2]: 38
The principal mission of the Treasury Relief Art Project was to provide artistic decoration for existing Federal buildings.[4] These projects could not be performed by the Section of Painting and Sculpture,[5]: 62 which commissioned art for new construction using a percentage of the budget overseen by the Treasury Department's procurement division.[2]: xxvi–xxvii The Treasury Relief Art Project was funded by the WPA. The Section supervised the creative output of TRAP, and selected a master artist for each project. Assistants were then chosen by the artist from the rolls of the WPA Federal Art Project.[5]: 62–63
As chief of the Treasury Relief Art Project, Dows was responsible for maintaining financial records for relief and non-relief personnel. A fixed proportion of all workers was to be taken from the relief rolls—initially 90 percent,[2]: xxxii but revised to 75 percent in December 1935.[2]: 47
Although it was regarded as a success, the Treasury Relief Art Project was ended June 30, 1938.[2]: xxx
At a total cost of $833,784,[5]: 63 89 mural projects and 65 sculpture projects were completed under the Treasury Relief Art Project, as well as 10,000 easel paintings that were distributed to Federal offices.[1]
In addition to producing artwork for Federal buildings, the Treasury Relief Art Project created murals and sculpture for Public Works Administration housing projects in Boston, Camden, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Washington, D.C.[2]: xxx and Stamford.[18]
Artistsedit
To maintain its high artistic standards, the Treasury Relief Art Project commissioned only a small number of artists—356 workers at its peak[2]: xxiv in 1936. Richmond Barthé, Ahron Ben-Shmuel, Paul Cadmus, Marion Greenwood, William Gropper, Reginald Marsh and Heinz Warneke were among the master artists who led projects.[1] A complete list of projects and artists employed by TRAP is included in the final report held by the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art.[2]: 185
^ abcde"Treasury Relief Art Project, 1935–1939". National Archives Catalog. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
^ abcdefghijKalfatovic, Martin R. (1994). The New Deal Fine Arts Projects: A Bibliography, 1933–1992. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2749-2.
^"Treasury Relief Art Project selected administrative and business records, 1935–1939". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^ ab"Main Post Office Mural – Berkeley CA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^ abcde"New York New Deal Art". wpamurals.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
^ ab"Post Office Murals – Cranford NJ". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
^"Delaware Post Office New Deal Artwork". wpamurals.com. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
^"The Dover Delaware Post Office Mural: Harvest, Spring and Summer". William D. White. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
^"Work in Progress Under the Treasury Relief Art Project". Bulletin Number 8. Washington, D.C.: Treasury Department Art Projects, United States Department of the Treasury. January–February 1936. p. 28. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
^ ab"Eureka Courthouse and Post Office Murals – Eureka CA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Historic Properties Listing". Preservation. Westchester County Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
^ ab"Ventura, CA New Deal Art". wpamurals.com. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
^ abMarling, Karal Ann (1982). Wall-to-Wall America: A Cultural History of Post Office Murals in the Great Depression. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816636730.
^ abLawton, Rebecca E. "Heroic America: James Daugherty's Mural Drawings from the 1930s". Resource Library. Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^ abcdeVendryes, Margaret Rose (2008). Barthé: A Life in Sculpture. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9781604730920.
^"Federal Building and U. S. Courthouse: Bisttram Murals – Albuquerque NM". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^"Carlsbad Museum Mural – Carlsbad NM". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Courthouse Mural – Gainesville GA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) Sites". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
^ ab"Post Office (former) Mural – Glenwood Springs CO". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Birch Bayh Federal Building Murals – Indianapolis IN". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"A Shy Artist Paints Bold Murals". Life. October 25, 1937. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
^"Post Office (former) Murals – Mount Kisco NY". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Post Office Bas Relief – Bedford IN". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^"Byron White U.S. Courthouse Sculptures – Denver CO". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Post Office (former) frescos – Beverly Hills CA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Thomas Sergeant LaFarge". Living New Deal. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
^"Ann Rice O'Hanlon Fresco Mural – Lexington KY". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
^"Post Office Murals—Hudson Falls NY". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
^"Main Post Office Bas Relief – Berkeley CA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^"Post Office Murals – Altoona PA". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
^"Wesley United Church Education Center (Old Post Office) Mural – Dover DE". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
External linksedit
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