New Deal Art

Artists employed by Federal New Deal programs, including the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, worked at Pueblo Grande Museum between 1939 and 1941.  

Artists created works on heavyweight paper or mat board using a variety of techniques including drawing, painting, or serigraph (silk screening). While many of the artists remain unidentified, several signed their artwork; these include - Creston Baumgartner, Elizabeth Y. Chambers, Elizabeth Johnson, and Audie R. Kelley.

The Federal Art Project at Pueblo Grande Museum focused on the documentation of prehistoric pottery designs and resulted in the production of a Portfolio of Prehistoric Hohokam Pottery Designs that was highlighted in publications including The Masterkey and American Antiquity. In addition, ethnographic Native American objects were documented including Pima (Akimel O’odham) baskets, traditional Akimel O’odham houses, as well as Maricopa (Piipaash/PeePosh), Mohave (Pipa Aha Macav), and Yaqui (Yoeme) objects.

The images in this online collection are a sample of the Federal artworks curated at Pueblo Grande Museum and are part of the General Services Administration’s Fine Arts Collection.