can we thank frances perkins for the new deal art … · 2020. 12. 3. · perkins attributes the...

CANWETHANKFRANCESPERKINSFORTHENEWDEALARTPROGRAMS?SarahPeskinApril2016

InherbiographyofFranklinDelanoRoosevelt,inthemiddleofachaptertitled"HeLikedPeople,"FrancesPerkinsrelatesanintriguingstoryabouthowartistscametobeincludedinNewDealprogramstoremedytheeffectsoftheGreatDepression.Shemodestlyalludestoherselfas"acabinetofficer"andgoesontotellhowherdaughter,alsounnamedinthenarrative,naggedhertoaskthePresidenttodosomethingtohelpthemanyworthyartistswhoweresufferingandwithoutworkinthe1930s.Inrelatingthestory,whichultimatelyledtothesuccessfulcreationoflegendaryfederalart,literature,andtheaterprograms,Perkinscharacteristicallytakesnopersonalcreditbutstates"WhentheCivilWorksprojectforworkreliefwasgettingunderway,thedecisiontoincludeartistsinitwasRoosevelt'sown."PerkinsattributestheoriginalideatoAlfredBarr,arespectedfigureintheartworld,andwhomherthen17-yearolddaughterSusannahadmetwhileonvacationinVermont,andthengoesontodescribeFDR'simmediateandpositiveresponse.

AlfredBarr,DirectoroftheMuseumofModernArt,conceivedtheideathatartistsshouldhavethereliefthatotherpeopleweregetting.Hepromoteditateveryhand,mentioningittoayounggirlwhowasamemberofthefamilyofacabinetofficer.Havingnoparticularjudgmentaboutpublicaffairsbutbeingardentaboutpainting,shepersuadedherreluctantparenttotakeitupwiththePresident.ThePresident'simmediatereactionwas,"Whynot?Theyarehumanbeings.Theyhavetolive.Iguesstheonlythingtheycandoispaintandsurelytheremustbesomepublicplacewherepaintingsarewanted."1

Inher1953oralhistorysheexpandsthisanecdoteintoafull-scaledescriptionofherconversationwithFDRandhisensuingactions.SherelatesthatHenryMorgenthau,Jr.,secretaryofthetreasury,cameinduringherconversationandthatFDRsaidtohim,enthusiasticabouttheidea:

“Henry, we've got a brand new idea. A lot of artists are out of work - painters, you know. We'll put them all to work ornamenting and decorating the public buildings. You've got the Office of Procurement. Let them hire these people and put them to work at painting pictures on public buildings.” That was partly a joke. It was done partly in laughter, but partly with reality. The President's mind was running along quickly and he said, “There's Boulder Dam. We can cover that all over with sculptures.” His imagination was running on.

Henry Morgenthau, who is very flat-footed and very practical, said, “Well, I don't know

1FrancesPerkins,TheRooseveltIKnew,(NewYork:VikingPress,1946),p.75-76inthe1947edition.ThisbiographyofFDRwasabestsellerwhenitwaspublishedshortlyafterhisdeathin1945.FrancesPerkinsservedasU.S.SecretaryofLabor1933-45duringtheentirepresidencyofFDR.

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about that, Mr. President. That sounds kind of crazy to me.” ThenthePresidentsaid,“Anyhow,Henry,lookintoit.SeeFrancesandHarryHopkinsandseeifwecan'tdosomething.”

ShefollowsthiswithanarrativeaboutMorgenthau'ssubsequentactions,describinghowheaskedaroundWashingtonandwasdirectedtoEdward"Ned"Bruce,whowastobecomein1933thedirectoroftheTreasury'sfirstmajorartprogram,thePublicWorksofArtProject(PWAP)stating:

Brucewasjustecstaticwhenhelearnedthatanybodyhadeverthoughtthatanartisttooneededreliefwork....Heandhiswifewereincomfortablecircumstances,butheknewstudentsandfellowartistswhowerejustdesperatewithnothingtodo,nothingtoeat,andnopossibilityofgettinganyorders.Tohimitwasamatterofecstasythatanybodyshouldeventhinkthatartistswerealsohumanbeings,hadtoeat,andneededalittlerelief.

Shecontinuestoreminiscethatafterthisenthusiasticresponse,MorgenthaurecruitedBrucetoruntheproject,notingthatheis"oneofthese"can-do"menandanaturalbornadministrator."Shegoesontosaythat"WegotHopkinsintoit."addingthat"Hopkins knew that artists must be hungry and was sure that it was better to have artists painting pictures and making sculpture than it was to have them shoveling gravel, or whatever else he had for them to do. Sure, he was for it. Sure, it was possible." This narrative flies in the face of the conventionally held wisdom about the origin of the New Deal art programs. Contemporary chroniclers of the programs in the late 1940s as well as later historians generally cite a letter from George Biddle to FDR of May, 1933 as having prompted the President to take action. The letter made the case for employing out-of-work artists at "plumbers' wages" to paint murals in government buildings, stating that if given the opportunity. "They would be contributing to and expressing in living monuments the social ideals that you are struggling to achieve."2 FDR replied a few weeks later to Biddle, a fellow classmate at Groton and Harvard although they were not personally acquainted, asking him to "have a talk some day with Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Robert, who is in charge of the Public Buildings' work."3 Biddle did speak with Robert and the Public Works of Art Project was initiated in December 1933 with a grant from the Civil Works Administration, an agency created by the National Recovery Act of the same year. This short but influential project is described in a glowing 1934 report by Edward Bruce titled "Implications of the Public Works of Art Project" where he highlights its successes, noting that every state was represented and that in addition to 2,294 artists and 168 laborers hired in less than two months, it provided a "needed lift of the spirit." He adds his enthusiastic observation

2GeorgeBiddletoFDRMay9,19333FDRtoGeorgeBiddleMay22,1933

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that thanks to the project "throughout the country people are becoming more art-minded."4 InherrecentbookDemocraticArt:TheNewDeal'sInfluenceonAmericanCulture,SharonAnnMusheracknowledgesBiddle'simportantrolebutnotesthat"Hewasoneofmanyartists,dealers,andorganizationspetitioningthegovernmentforthecreationofartprojects."5ShecommentsfurtherthatBiddlewasprimarilyemphasizingmuralartasapropagandatooltopromoteNewDealideology,whileotherswereconcernedmorewiththegreatnumberofartistsinneedofreliefduetothedeclineofprivatepatronage.ShecitesinparticularapublicpleabyAudreyMcMahon,presidentoftheCollegeArtAssociation,titled"MaytheArtistLive?"publishedinOctober1933,thatdescribedthedesperatesituationofAmericanartists,notingthatbetweenone-thirdandone-halfofthenation'sartistswerewithoutworkorameanstosupportthemselves.McMahonexpressedthewidelyheldconcernthatanentiregenerationofartistswouldvanishandasked"Shallthisagebeknowntoposterityasadarkeraduringwhichweturnedallourthoughtstomaterialfearsandclosedourmindstothehopeandreliefofferedbybeauty?"Shethoughtthat"Itneednotbeso."andofferedasamodeltheexperimentalgovernment-subsidizedartprojectsheoversawinNewYorkCityfromDecember1932untilAugust1933.6InFrancesPerkins'descriptionoftheartprojects,sheprovidesadditionaldetailsabouthowtheartistswereselectedunderBruce'sguidancebecauseheunderstoodthat"youshouldn'tputjusttrashonthewallsbecausethemanwashungry,butthatyoushouldhavecompetitionbetweenthehungryfortheopportunity."ShefurthernoteshowwelltheprojectsucceededwithitsfinemuralsintheJusticeDepartmentandPostOfficethenunderconstructioninWashington,stating:"ThevisibleresultsoftheartistsprojectinthisreliefareperhapsmorerememberedbythepeopleoftheUnitedStates,andarecertainlymoreobvious,iftheygoaroundinpublicbuildingsatall,thanalmostanythingelse."7 ShealsodescribesthequalityandcharacterofpaintingsproducedbythePWAPthatsheandherstaffselectedtohangintheDepartmentofLaborbuilding,whosewallsweredeemedunsuitableformurals.SheisjustifiablyproudoftheseworkswhichwereincludedinanimportantexhibitionattheCorcoranGalleryin1934,andnowresideintheSmithsonian'sAmericanArtMuseumasahighlightoftheirpermanentcollection.84EdwardBruce,“ImplicationsofThePublicWorksofArtProject”.TheAmericanMagazineofArt27(3).TheFrickCollection:p.113–15.http://www.jstor.org/stable/23955263.5SharonAnnMusher,DemocraticArt:TheNewDeal'sInfluenceonAmericanCulture,(Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress),2015,p.18.6Musher,p.11andAudreyMcMahon."MaytheArtistLive?,"Parnassus,JournaloftheCollegeArtAssociation,Vol.V.No.5,October,1933.7Reminiscences of Frances Perkins (1952-55) in the Oral History Research Office Collection of the Columbia University Libraries (OHRO/CUL). 8AnnPrenticeWagner,1934:ANewDealforAmericanArtists,(Washington,D.C.:SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum).

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AppleVendor,BarbaraStevenson,PWAP,1934.Smithsonian AmericanArtMuseum.TransferfromtheU.S.DepartmentofLabor. PerkinsdoeswriteaboutGeorgeBiddleinTheRooseveltIKnew,quotinghiscommentsaboutFDRandhisroleinsupportingartists,butdespiteacknowledgingthatshehadcorrespondedwithBiddle,Perkinsdoesnotcredithimwithinitiatingthefederalartprograms.

GeorgeBiddle,thepainter,oncesaidofhim,"Youknow,itisstrange.Roosevelthasalmostnotasteorjudgmentaboutpainting,andIdon'tthinkhegetsmuchenjoymentoutofit;yethehasdonemoreforpaintersinthiscountrythananybodyeverdid--notonlybyfeedingthemwhentheyweredownandoutbutbyestablishingtheideathatpaintingsareagoodthingtohavearoundandthatartistsareimportant."9

Interestingenough,whenGeorgeBiddlewasgiventhecommissiontopaintthe1936SocietyFreedThroughJusticeseriesofmuralsintheJusticeDepartment,heincludedarecognizableimageofFrancesPerkinsprominentlydepictedasaseamstressinapanelillustratingasweatshop.Hepaintedhimselfatasewingmachineinarelatedpanelabove,alongwithanunlabeledbutidentifiableimageofStuartChase,socialtheoristandauthorsaidtohavecoinedtheterm"ANewDeal"inhis1932bookofthesamename.ThePerkinsportraitisclearlyintendedtoacknowledgeherroleinamelioratingtheterribleconditionscommoninthegarmentindustrywithitschildlaborandunsafeworkplaces.Butdoesit

9FrancesPerkins,TheRooseveltIKnew,p.76.

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alsorecognizeherasasupporteroftheartsaspartofthemeanstocorrectthesewrongs?Theevidenceisinconclusive.

GeorgeBiddle,SocietyFreedThroughJustice,U.S.DepartmentofJustice,Washington,D.C.,1936.ThewordsofHenryMorgenthau,aspresentedintheauthorized1959bookFromtheMorgenthauDiariesbyJohnMortonBlum,describetheTreasuryartprogramas"anemergencyreliefactivitytoaidqualifiedartistsinneedofemployment."MorgenthauattributestheideasolelytoEdwardBruce,statingthathe"originallysuggestedtheprojecttoHarryHopkins,whowillinglyfurnishedfundsfromhisreliefappropriations."10AlsoacknowledgedinthenarrativeishiswifeElinorMorgenthau,who"awakenedherhusband'sinterest,andthereforetheTreasury's,inart,andsheconstantlyurged10JohnMortonBlum,FromtheMorgenthauDiaries,(Boston:HoughtonMifflinCo.),1959.p.91.

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MorgenthautoassistBruce,whoalsobenefitedfromhisacquaintancewiththePresident."11FrancesPerkinswasagreatappreciatorofthevisualarts.Hercollegenotebooksshowthatshestudiedarthistory,takingextensivelecturenotesforwhatappeartohavebeenseriouscourses.Inheroralhistory,sherelateshowmuchsheenjoyedattendingmuseumandgalleryshowsasayoungwomanlivinginGreenwichVillageandshespeaksknowledgeablyaboutfavoritepaintingsbyGeorgeBellows,JohnSloanandothers.ShesaysthatattendingtheArmoryShowof1913was"oneofthemostimportantoccasionsofmylife."Aboutherlateryearsshesays"I've always been concerned about the graphic arts, liked them and enjoyed them." WhenshedescribeswithgreatenthusiasmtheNewDealartsprogramsthatbuiltupontheinitialTreasuryDepartment'sPWAP--theSectionofFineArts,themassiveFederalArtProjectandtheater,music,andwritersprojectsoftheWPA--wemustaskourselveswhywedonotknowaboutherroleininitiatingtheseprogramsthatareconsideredhallmarksoftheNewDeal?Granted,shedidnotadministerthemdirectly,butshedidhaveresponsibilityfortheFederalEmploymentServicecommenting:"Icontinuedmyinterestinthisproject,first,becauseIwasaprofessionalsocialworker,and,second,becauseoperatingtheemploymentserviceaswedidwehadtofeedinconstantlytotheWPAprojects."IsthisanothercaseofFrancesPerkins'extrememodesty,orwasitbecauseartoftheNewDealerafelloutoffashionwiththeriseofAbstractExpressionismandOpArtandPopArtinthe1960sandthelackofscholarshiponAmericanartofthe1930suntilmanyyearslater?RecentmuseumexhibitionsandbooksabouttheNewDealartsprogramsarecallingnewattentiontotheperiodanditsimportancetoAmericanculturalhistory.TheSmithsonian's2009travellingshowandcatalogue1934ANewDealforArtistsandRogerKennedy'sWhenArtWorked:TheNewDeal,Art,andDemocracyofthesameyear,aswellastheeffortsoftheNewDealArtRegistry,LivingNewDeal,andNationalNewDealPreservationAssociationarestimulatingrenewedappreciationfortheseprogramsandtheworktheyproduced.RogerKennedystated"Duringthosesixyears(1933-39),theworkofprofessionalartistswassupportedbyalargershareofnationaltaxrevenueandbuoyedbymorenationalattentionthaninanyotherperiodofthenation'slife.12"WemayneverknowforsureexactlyhowtheNewDealartsprogramsoriginated.Butforthosewhoaredelightedbythecolorfulmuralstheystillencounterintheirlocalpostoffice,orwhoenjoythefreshlyrestoredpanelsintheirofficelobbyinWashington,DC,attheCoitTowerinSanFranciscoorinmanyotherlocationsthroughoutthecountry,wegiveour

11Blum,p.92.12RogerG.Kennedy,WhenArtWorked:TheNewDeal,Art,andDemocracy.(NewYork:Rizzoli),2009.

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thankstothemanypeopleandorganizationswhoharnessedtheresourcesofourfederalgovernmenttoaid"thecreativeonesamongus....tocoaxthesoulofAmericabacktolife".13

CityLifebyVictorArnautoff--apaneloftheCoitTowerMurals--PWAP1934.Abouttheauthor:SarahPeskinisaboardmemberoftheFrancesPerkinsCenter.SheholdsaB.A.inArtHistoryfromSmithCollegeandaMaster'sofUrbanPlanningfromNewYorkUniversityandretiredfromtheNationalParkServicewheresheservedaschiefofplanningandlegislationfortheNorthAtlanticregion.SheauthoredfeasibilitystudiesforthehomesoftwoAmericanartiststhatresultedintheirestablishmentasWeirFarmNationalHistoricSiteandThomasColeNationalHistoricSite.

13Froma1933letterfromGutzomBorglum,bestknownasthesculptorofMountRushmore,toHarryHopkins.