Art for a democracy: The WPA's art education programs in Minnesota, 1935-1943

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) issued a press release listing art education for all Americans as a major goal of the Federal Art Project.;The purpose of this study is to clarify from a historical perspective the relationships which existed between work-relief, art production, and art education within the WPA's Federal Art Project in Minnesota between 1935 and 1943. The study addresses the following questions: (1) how important was art education to the larger goals of the WPA, specifically to those of the Art Project; and (2) how was the relative importance of art education made manifest in the Art Project's programs as they were actually implemented in Minnesota?;Using primary documents obtained from state and national archives, the WPA's art education program is placed within a social, political, and economic context. Included, is a discussion of WPA Chief Administrator, Harry Hopkins' view of work-relief and how it shaped the educational goals of the Art Project. Focusing on murals, works of art are examined to determine what roles art played in the larger teaching program. Course offerings, curriculum, and instructional methods used at Minnesota's WPA art centers are reviewed, with special emphasis given to the programs developed at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, a WPA community art center between 1939 and 1942. Included in the study is a discussion of the special WPA grant awarded to the University of Minnesota to study methods of teaching art appreciation.;Although as Harry Hopkins admitted, the amount of money spent on art education was small compared to what was spent on other WPA projects, the study reveals that the Minnesota Art Project was considered by contemporaries to have been successful in raising the aesthetic awareness of the average citizen by placing original art in schools, making visual aids available to educational institutions, and by creating interest in art through exhibitions and free art instruction.