Oral history interview with Howard Thomas and Harold Wescott
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 4 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Thomas, Howard, 1899-1971
label: Interviewee
content: Wescott, Harold, 1911-
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
label: Names
content: Federal Art Project (Wis.)
label: Names
content: Milwaukee Handicraft Project
label: Names
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
label: Names
content: Public Works of Art Project
label: Names
content: United States. Works Progress Administration
label: Names
content: Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Thomas, Howard, 1899-1971
label: Interviewee
content: Wescott, Harold, 1911-
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Howard Thomas (1899-1971) and Harold Wescott (1911-) were art administrators with the Public Works of Art Project and the Milwaukee Handicraft Project.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 21 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1965 June 3
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.thomas65
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The original transcript was edited. In 2021 the Archives retranscribed the original audio and attempted to create a verbatim transcript. This interview was audited and edited by Allison Tracy-Taylor in 2025.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview with Howard Thomas and Harold Wescott conducted 1965 June 3, by Richard K. Doud, for the Archives of American Art. They speak of their professional backgrounds and early affiliations with the Public Works of Art Project; their involvement with the WPA Handicraft project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the project's effect on the community; the political effect; Milwaukee as an art center; the effect of the WPA on artists' careers; and government support for the arts. Wescott recalls Frank Lloyd Wright.