Evening star., 1933-12-11
PUBLIC ART WORKS
TO BEAUT|FY
FEDERAL BUILDINGS
$500 Artists to Be Employed
Throughout the United
States.
PROGRAM is TO BE UNDER
ROBERTS SUPERVISION
Mural Painters, Sculptors and
Craftsmen to Be Summoned
by C. w. A. Head.

One OF the most important cultural
projects ever undertaken by the Fed
eral Government was announced today
with approval of new Public Works
of Art. to employ $500 artists in the
Identification of Federal buildings
throughout the United States.
Plans to bring mural painters, sculp-
tors and craftsmen into employment
through the Civil Works Administra-
tion were approved by Harry L. Hop
kinS, civil works administrator.
The new Public Works of Art will be
under general supervision of L. w.
Robert, jr., Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury.
First Lady at Meeting.
The announcement followed a meet
ing Friday attended by Mrs. Franklin
D. Roosevelt and leading artists and
Government officials in the home of
Edward Bruce, the American painter.
The project is expected to encourage
and inspire artists to depict a per-
manent record of the times. Unem-
ployed craftsmen will be put to work
embellishing Federal and other publicly
owned buildings in Washington and
throughout the country. These may in
clude buildings which are supported
wholely or in part by tax funds, such
as Federal and State administrative
buildings, buildings on Indian reserva-
tions, parks. public schools. hospitals,
land-grant colleges, customs houses,
court houses. municipal libraries, ZOOS
and other public structures.
The program has an enthusiastic sup
porter in Mrs. Roosevelt, who declared:
Il think this plan has tremendous pos
sibilities for awakening the interest of
the people as whole in art and for
developing artistic qualities which have
not come to light in the past and for
recognizing artists who already have
made their names among their fellow
artists but who have had little recog-
milton from the public at large. The
art Of country is a sign of its virility
and strength"
The work will be carried on through
out the country by IA regional commit
Ttees These committees will select the
artists to be employed in their re-
spective territories and applications will
be considered by them directly.
The washington committee will be
headed by Duncan Phillips, director of
the Phillips Memorial Gallery, and c.
Powell Minnigerode, director of Cor
coran Gallery of Art, will be a men,
ber
Mr. Roberts will have as his advisers
the Advisory Committee to the Treasury
on Fine Arts. A special organization
for carrying on the work now has head
quarters in room 168 at the Treasury
Department. with Forbes Watson as
technical director.
Advisory Committee Members.
The Advisory Committee consists of
Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine
Arts Commission. chairman; Dr. Rex
ford G. Tugwell, Assistant Secretary
Of Agriculture; Mr.. Hopkins, H. T.
Hunt, general counsel for the Federal
Emergency Administration of Public
Works; Frederic A. Delano director of
the National Planning Commission, and
Mr.. Bruce who will serve as secretary.
In approving this project" Mr..
Bruce said, "Mr. Hopkins has recog-
nized that the artist, like the laborer,
capitalist and Office worker, eats,
drinks, has a family and pays rent,
thus contradicting the old superstition
that the painter and sculptor live in
attics and exist on inspiration. AS a
result, the American artist is now in
cluded in the 100000 men to be put
to work under the civil works program.
The approximately $500 artists now
unemployed will be given employment
in their own field under conditions CAL
culated not to deflate their inspiration" !"