Posters for the People: Art of the WPA

By The Art and History of Erotic Playing Cards

This lavishly illustrated volume amasses nearly 500 of the best and most striking posters designed by artists working in the 1930s and early 1940s for the government-sponsored Works Progress Administration, or WPA. Posters for the People presents these works for what they truly are: highly accomplished and powerful examples of American art. All are iconic and eye-catching, some are humorous and educational, and many combine modern art trends with commercial techniques of advertising. More than 100 posters have never been published or catalogued in federal records; they are included here to ensure their place in the history of American art and graphic design.

The story of these posters is a fascinating journey, capturing the complex objectives of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal reform program. Through their distinct imagery and clear and simple messages, the WPA posters provide a snapshot of an important era when the U.S. government employed hundreds of artists to create millions of posters promoting positive social ideals and programs and a uniquely American way of life. The resulting artworks now form a significant historical record. More than a mere conveyor of government information, they stand as timeless images of beauty and artistic accomplishment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Release date: Feb 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781594749988

Book preview

This book is dedicated,

with love, to the memory of my father,

Harry F. Ennis, Sr., 1936–2000

Copyright © 2008 by Design for Social Impact

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Number: 2008924741

ISBN 978-1-59474-292-7

Ebook ISBN 978-1-59474-998-8

Ebook design adapted from printed book design by Cara Cox, Design for Social Impact

Cover (clockwise from top left):

Power; Native Ground; John Is Not Really Dull; International Exhibition of Watercolors; Wild Life; Salut au Monde

Quirk Books

215 Church Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

www.quirkbooks.com

Arhival photos courtesy of Christopher DeNoon

FM2.1 Posters being screened and inspected

BM1.1 A large workshop of poster artists

v4.1

CONTENTS

Cover

Dedication

Title Page

Copyright

FOREWORD: FROM WPA WHAT? TO POSTERS FOR THE PEOPLE

Christopher DeNoon

INTRODUCTION: POSTERS FOR THE PEOPLE

THE POSTERS

• WORK PAYS AMERICA: Prosperity & Opportunity

• EXHIBITION: Art & Craft

• MARCH ON TO HEALTH: Health & Safety

• SEE AMERICA: Travel & Destinations

• DEMOCRACY A CHALLENGE: American Cultural Traditions

• WILD LIFE: Preservation & Conservation

• BANDS ON PARADE: Community Events

• PASSPORTS TO ADVENTURE: Knowledge & Information

• YOUR CHILDREN LIKE THESE LOW RENT HOMES: Neighborhood Places

• JOIN NOW: War & Defense

• VISIT THE ZOO: Sports & Recreation

• SING FOR YOUR SUPPER: Theatre, Dance & Music

THE WPA LIVING ARCHIVE

INDEX

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

About the Authors

FROM WPA WHAT? TO POSTERS FOR THE PEOPLE

BY CHRISTOPHER DENOON

Author of Posters of the WPA

Iwelcome the kind invitation that Ennis Carter extended to me to write the fore-word for her new book on WPA posters. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on how much the status and visibility of these posters has changed since my research on the subject began in 1978.

I had seen several posters in an American Heritage book about 1930s history and wanted to know more. Tentative investigation to gather information came up empty. As with other work produced by artists employed by the Federal Art Project, the posters had long been forgotten by the public and ignored by art historians. My inquiries to poster dealers ended similarly. They were unfamiliar with WPA posters, which were not catalogued in volumes of poster history or available in the marketplace. Their awkward responses served to reinvigorate my quest to resurrect and re-present the posters, and I set to work.

In the four-plus years of diligent searches through bins and flat files in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and in correspondence with poster and ephemera dealers nationwide, I turned up fewer than a dozen WPA posters available for purchase. Eventually, my search led to the two largest archives of the posters: the Library of Congress and the Federal Theatre Project Collection at George Mason University.

The enthusiasm, professional skills and kindness of many at those institutions made possible the publication of Posters of the WPA—the first history and reference book devoted exclusively to the subject.

Since publication of my book in 1987, the status of the posters has changed substantially. No longer an arcane footnote in the history of graphic arts and poster design, today they are a more valued and appreciated body of work. In 2000 the Library of Congress scanned and digitized their holdings, creating a searchable online database of more than 900 posters, and images are now available for viewing and use. I’ve seen the posters on T-shirts and coffee mugs and in corn flake commercials and Hollywood films including David Mamet’s The Spanish Prisoner.

Importantly, the WPA poster artists are now widely recognized for their contribution to the history of graphic art. I have long held the hope that WPA art and its artists would enter the lexicon and consciousness of those who research, write about, and are concerned with the history of American art. That hope has been realized. As institutional collections reappraise and discover their Federal Art Project holdings, long-archived items are emerging from storage to be displayed in gallery settings.

The posters no longer need defending or an explication of their worth-simply seeing them is convincing.

Despite this heightened profile, however, there are still more to be discovered. With more than 35,000 posters designed and two million printed, the large federal collection at the Library of Congress is only a small sampling.

The same excitement that I felt during my initial search to uncover and bring to light long unseen WPA posters revisits me as I learn about each new one discovered through Ennis Carter’s work with the WPA Living Archive. The nearly 500 images in Posters for the People are the most extensive collection ever published. The posters no longer need defending or an explication of their worth—simply seeing them is convincing.

Ennis and I share a great passion for the WPA poster. The intensive search for unknown examples will benefit all who care about America’s cultural and artistic heritage. It is tremendously exciting to see the results of her commitment and diligence. Many thanks to Ennis for sharing the 114 newly discovered posters in this fine gift of her book.

POSTERS

FOR THE PEOPLE

Iremember the first time I learned about WPA posters. It was the 1980s and I was a community organizer in search of effective and inspiring ways to call attention to important social issues. When I ran across Chris DeNoon’s book Posters of the WPA , I was surprised to learn that during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. government had sponsored a work program that valued artists enough to employ hundreds of them to make posters. I was amazed that the government focused such effort on promoting a social agenda and that creativity and art were recognized as a vital means of capturing the public’s attention and calling citizens to action.

But it was the posters themselves that spoke to me. Their incredible beauty and meaning are inspiring. Their high-quality craftsmanship makes each one special and extremely powerful. These posters were clearly more than mere promotional pieces. What impressed me most was the remarkably effective combination of striking visuals and strong messages, which together portray such a hopeful and positive view of America.

Unfortunately, most of these posters met the sad fate that often befalls ephemera. Like other promotional material, they were taken down, thrown away, forgotten. Not surprisingly, the federal government kept no record of the WPA artists’ wide-ranging production. Although several hundred posters are collectively documented and stored in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, the majority remain uncatalogued and are scattered in a handful of private and public collections throughout the United States.

I believe that the story of these captivating posters deserves to be protected and celebrated and that the remaining examples should once again be brought to light.

As artifacts, the posters serve as an important snapshot of a moment in our nation’s social, cultural, and art history. Their creation played a key role not only in promoting the hopes and aspirations of a government but also in advancing American poster design and printing techniques.

What I find more interesting, though, is how relevant the posters are today. The issues and problems they highlight continue to confront Americans, even in the twenty-first century. The solutions they portray—steeped in inclusive, positive values—resonate as ways to address our many challenges, from poverty to health to protection of the environment. These posters may be simple and may not represent the total solution, but they emphasize a belief that social problems can and should be overcome—a timeless and important idea.

The record of the WPA posters is a meaningful one. It is a fascinating journey, from the complex goals and objectives of the New Deal programs of the Great Depression to a collection of posters that continues to engage, entertain, and

Reviews for Posters for the People

[kristenn_43 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Basically just a (large, very pretty) art book. After a basic intro, the posters are left to stand on their own. It was interesting to see warnings about things like drunk driving and smoking from long before either was outlawed.