TOWARD AN ERA OF
GOOD FEELING
Works from the WPA’s Federal Arts Project
September 8 – October 22, 2005
The paintings in this collection were created in 1935
and 1936 by artists from the New England area. Besides
reflecting the abilities and sensibilities of the people
who made them, these paintings also provide a view of
the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA put
artists and others back to work during the desperate
times of the Great Depression.
The story of how this collection came into the hands
of the Greater Fall River Art Association (GFRAA) is
mirrored in other cities and towns across the country.
Works created under the auspices of the WPA remained
the property of the United States government, and after
the WPA ended in 1942 many of the paintings, posters
and murals were destroyed. However, on occasion, a cache
of them would be stored away in an attic, a warehouse
somewhere, or in the case of murals, hidden under layers
of paint only to be rediscovered many years later. This
particular body of works was stored for some time in
a warehouse in Boston. One day a local resident working
in Boston was directed to remove and destroy a collection
of these old canvasses. Instead, he crated the works
and shipped them to his home in Fall River. They remained
in his possession until his death. Sometime in the 1980s
his sister donated the collection to the GFRAA with
the request that the collection remain intact and that
the donor remain anonymous. These works have been restored
to their present condition by the GFRAA. This is the
first time since the restoration project that they have
been exhibited to the public.
In addition to the paintings, the gallery has created
12 topic and image panels. Each of the topic panels
incorporates information and vintage photographs from
the WPA Era and provides context for the time period
in which the paintings were created. |
