https://openvalley.org/items/show/2110
description: Bronx River and County Center, White Plains is a scenic oil painting overlooking the eponymous landmarks the title suggests. Jumping past the absence of a foreground into the middle ground, half of the painting’s composition is taken up by billowing, soft trees to the left. To the right, in the distant background, lies the skyline of White Plains. Worrall uses the rule of thirds to divide existing nature and excavation of it for this city-adjacent community. Lying at the lower third of the painting is the Bronx River, reflecting both the closer, taller building and the trees in its clear, blue water. Above it is an even brighter sky from a cloudy sky, blanketing the painting in a comforting negative space. The painting has approached the scene with a unique tenderness, especially in the motion and texture of the trees, water, and grass. Color is used sparingly, Worrall limiting his palette to a selection of cool tones and a variation of green and blue. Much of the contrast is in the shadow cast by the trees, whereas the rest of the painting relies on midtones, achieving an overall calming, serene landscape just barely out of reach. About the Artist W.H. Worrall, born William Henry Worrall in Poughkeepsie, NY, was an American painter who spent brief moments in the limelight. Little is known about him, although his work was exhibited at the New York State Historical Association at Ticonderoga on June 13th, 1935, where an apparent series of his works depicting domestic labor tools, including cheese-making, spinning and weaving, and candle-making were displayed. This seems to be the only record of his exhibitions, although he worked as a professional illustrator, including projects like William H. Carson’s novel The Fool (1902) and drawings for Field and Stream. His activities outside of art are captured on news articles, such as The Lake Placid News and The Adirondack Record, covering some of his life interests. He was a man who loved the outdoors and was active in sev…
creator: Worrall, W[illiam] H[enry], 1860-1939
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 815
contributor: Nicaj, Angelea (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 2 MB jpeg, 1.2 MB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2109
description: A Black man in an all-black suit, paired with a top hat just off center in the foreground of the image, pushes a loaded cart down what seems to be an alley. The cart sports two miniature American flags at the end, and the three-wheeled wagon’s path points perpendicular to the road and directly toward the audience, suggesting an unstable control over the man’s own belongings. There are too many obstacles--even the piece’s heavily imbued texture works to visually chip away at the man’s effort--but despite the difficulties, the title suggests this stubborn man persists, perhaps commenting on the “true American” qualities of the working class. He pays no mind to the only other person in the image, a crouched homeless woman who sits outside a small domicile, just behind the American. Perhaps Steth is paradoxically noting the “rugged individualism” mentality that comes with perceived American success. From his shaggy, worn coat, to his asymmetrical top hat, down to his patriotic display, he remains diligent about appearances. He wheels his cart down the uneven, textured path of the road, heaving his body forward in an asymmetrical tilt to gain leverage. The contrast in the man’s suit and his environment centers him and further brings to light his futile action. Neither suit nor patriotic homages will grant him a place in the eyes of America’s racial majority. About the Artist Raymond Steth was an African American graphic artist born into a working-class farming family in Norfolk, Virginia before moving to Pennsylvania. He spent much of his childhood in North Carolina, where he worked on the farm his uncle sharecropped. In 1938, he began working for the graphics division of the Federal Art Project, where he shared a studio with colleague Claude Clark, one of several artists Steth worked and exhibited alongside of. This allowed him the experience to work as a professional artist; he later furthered his education by attending the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art …
creator: Steth, Raymond (1917-1997)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 1514
contributor: Nicaj, Angelea (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 2.1 MB jpeg, 892 KB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2107
description: Blacks and grays are used to create a scene of women working in a factory at sewing machines. Birkin uses this monochrome palette to create a sense of weariness: no light comes in through the dark windows, leaving miserly electric lights inside to shine down on the employees and their work. This dramatic disparity in lighting gives us the impression that they have spent hours inside the factory to earn what they can. Despite a feeling of weariness that the darkness conjures, there is also a strange calmness to the print, despite what would be a noisy and hectic factory. A grid of electric cords separates viewers from the workers, almost like looking in through a window. There is also a separation of the workers as well, through these wires as well as the lighting. We pick out individual workers and see them separately, rather than as a connected unit. While it's dark outside, the women do not seem to be panicked or worried about the passing time. They are calmly and stoically doing the work that needs to be done. About the Artist Born in Philadelphia, PA, Birkin was a talented artist who created pieces in many different styles and mediums. His studies kept him near home during the 1930s, learning first at the Fleischer Memorial Graphic Sketch Club for six years before attending the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. This education gave him a solid foundation in muralism, drawing, and painting; by 1939 he was exhibiting his tempera painting, Cotton Pickers, at the New York World’s Fair. Birkin was employed by the Federal Arts Project between 1940 and 1942. He worked in watercolors, oils, and prints, exhibiting mostly in the Philadelphia area: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Free Library, United Artists Gallery, Civic Theater, and various private galleries. Birkin also designed and painted several murals—at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Fort Meade, MD; at the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens; and one entitled “Juarez and Lincoln” at the Navy Department Building in Mex…
creator: Birkin, Morton (1919-1984)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 190
contributor: Secor, Caleb (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 1.9 MB jpeg, 925 KB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2106
description: A tree serves as the central focus for this piece, dividing the left and right of the portions of Alshets’ painting. Its setting is Crotona Park, in the Bronx. The narrower left side of the painting shows a road going into the distance and vanishing; the road heading to the right past the tree holds most of the action, with people walking and biking through the park underneath electric lights—still a new innovation during the 1930s. Evening in Crotona Park is painted in a darker palette, with details fading out the deeper into the painting you go. In the foreground near the tree are two people, a man and a woman, sitting on the grass and talking to one another. The brushstrokes in this painting are light, in the upper portion used to give an impression of dim moonlight filtering in through the cloudy sky. This piece shows a calm evening and evokes a sense of community and peace, one that Alshets himself may have felt about the park since he lived nearby. He offers us a few moments there ourselves, under the electric lights. About the Artist Alshets was an artist for the Federal Arts Project based in New York, having immigrated from Sheffield, England as a young child. Although we know a several of his artworks, and even have a photograph of him painting Deserted Farm (1938), there is little more about the man who created them. Historical records indicate a large family, including a twin sister, and a toymaker father who struggled financially. We also can trace how his paintings, through the FAP, travelled across the United States. In 1941 his painting Tri Boro Bridge was exhibited at the the Salt Lake City Art Center and praised by the local newspaper as a lively scene reminiscent of Reginald Marsh. That same painting appeared a few months later in Oregon, at the Salem Arts Center, where a reviewer thought that it showed a good understanding of the average American. Deserted Farm traveled to the Federal Art Gallery in Chicago; a still life traveled to Bradenton, FL.…
creator: Alshets, Simon (1908 - ?)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 20137
contributor: Secor, Caleb (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 2.2 MB jpeg, 1.2 MB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2105
description: The Federal Art Project sometimes photographed "artists at easels" in order to publicize that WPA program. Here, Alshets is shown at work on his oil painting Deserted Landscape. Because it traveled to Chicago for an exhibit in the Federal Art Gallery in that city, the photograph may have been conceived deliberately. Very little is known about Alshets himself, beyond a few striking artworks created during the late 1930s.
creator: Pollard, [Aubrey]
source: Archives of American Art Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, circa 1920-1965, bulk 1935-1942 Box 1, Folder 20: Alshets, Simon, 1936-1941

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2104
description: Witten’s still-life painting depicts a vase of gladioli flowers with a framed nude portrait set next to and slightly behind the vase. The exact year of production is unknown, like much of Witten’s personal history. The flowers are bright red and gold, a sharp contrast to the deep blue-green vase and light green wall. The nude portrait shows a woman on her knees looking downward, apparently posing next to the edge of a bed. Her body language is soft, inviting comparison to the flowers. Our immediate focal point is the flower vase, particularly its bright red flowers: most of them seemingly lean towards the portrait, creating a line of attention across the piece. By utilizing a contrast of hues and saturations, Witten also invites juxtaposition of the portrait and its surroundings. The pale figure, posed against a deep blue background and cool-hued colors, contrasts the warm-hued colors of its framing room. This shifts the initial focal point towards the picture frame and away from the flowers. Witten’s technique gives the painting a soft, romantic feeling. The visual brushstrokes and soft linework make the work feel familiar but not distinct, as though Witten were portraying a memory. About the Artist Mabel Alice Mary Azure was born in London, her exact birth year unknown, to an English father and Spanish mother. After the early passing of her parents, Witten attended an all-girls private school in Hampshire, England, thanks to family wealth. During this time, she met her husband, George Walter Bond Witten, whom she married in 1912. George Witten was not only a writer, but also an army Major. The newlywed couple moved to New York, staying for a short time before relocating to Florida, where they remained the rest of their lives. She got the nickname “Bunty” from her husband and used it as a professional name throughout her career. Witten spent a great deal of time on education. She attended 8 years of school in the U.S., some of them spent at the Metropolitan Art Sch…
creator: Witten, Bunty (1895? - 1968)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 826
contributor: Pasiak, Olivia (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 2 MB jpeg, 1.2 MB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2103
description: Anchel’s lithograph depicts a large balcony appearing to be located in a theater. Figures stand above and below it, all in groups except for one. Most of the figures hold happy or neutral expressions, whereas the lone figure is almost brooding. He looms over the edge of the balcony, looking below. The balcony and ceiling are not rendered in a uniform perspective; they curve and seem to create a bubble around the second floor. The linear quality of the piece parallels its architecture: railings, windows, and building edges create a geometric framework that contrasts with and surrounds the organic shapes of the human figures. Anchel draws our focus towards the private balcony, his line work flowing towards isolated box seats at lower right. The value of the figures is much darker than the rest of the work, emphasizing their faces against the background. This private section sits closer to the stage, in contrast to a bunched group, at lower left, on the theater’s lower level. “Balcony’s” asymmetry and theme of isolation may have resonated with feelings of uncertainty during this era, reflecting confusion and loneliness in a place that represents collective enjoyment. If “All the world’s a stage,” as Shakespeare suggested, we never see the drama to which Anchel’s audience is reacting. About the Artist Anchel Harold Rosenberg was born in 1912 on the lower east side of Manhattan, New York City. He was artistic from a young age, creating many pieces for his mother as a teenager before attending the National Academy of Design, 1930-32. Anchel joined the innovative New Dance Group in 1932, founded by six Jewish women whose motto became “Dance is a Weapon of the Class Struggle.” He performed in pieces with titles like On the Barricade and Hunger. Anchel joined the WPA in 1937, forced to drop his last name and switch the others since only two family members could apply: thereafter, he was Harold Anchel. He joined as one of the youngest employees at the FAP’s Graphic Arts Divis…
creator: Anchel, Harold (1912-1980)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 271
contributor: Pasiak, Olivia (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography0

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2102
description: Several people gather Christmas trees in a snowy, urban setting. The foreground includes two men, a woman and a baby, a young child, and (incongruously) a cat all gathered around a pile of Christmas trees. In the background we see a butcher at work, with a woman and a child looking into the store’s window. Dwight’s use of tonal value helps the viewer differentiate Christmas trees in the foreground from those in the background, and the surrounding buildings. Her handling of form helps create a three-dimensional space that gives the trees and background contents shape: they’re desirable even to us. The scene is composed asymmetrically, with more negative space to the right and positive space to the left, filled with people and Christmas trees. The lack of an obvious focal point allows the viewer to understand a subtle disorder to the scene, encapsulated by citizens dragging large trees with children and pets running through the area. Dwight’s work provides a commentary on the natural world’s bounty being hauled into an industrialized urban setting—a seemingly prosperous one, at that. Outside of the frame, or perhaps hinted at via a shadowy figure at right, are Americans unable to afford the material accoutrements of Christmas. About the Artist Born Mabel Jacque Williamson in Cincinnati, OH, Dwight was one of the more controversial and prolific lithographers of her time. She studied painting at the Hopkins School of Art in San Francisco, CA in her twenties, travelling to Paris, Egypt, India, and other destinations after her studies. She married Eugene Higgins in 1906 before divorcing in 1921, when she changed her last name to Dwight (for reasons unknown). Even before making art full time, she had become a champion of socialist art and ideals, inspired by her time in college. “I was born with a hatred for the duality of poverty and riches,” she recalled. In 1926, at the age of fifty, Dwight began making her first lithographs and by 1928 her work was displayed at the Wey…
creator: Dwight, Mabel (1876-1955)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 1203
contributor: Scamardo, Sam (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography)
format: jpeg, 1.9 MB jpeg, 1.9 MB

https://openvalley.org/items/show/2101
description: In Autumn Landscape, at first glance, the viewer appears to be standing on a riverbank, looking into a dense and active landscape. The foreground is filled with thick foliage, where leaves are depicted through repeating oval shapes and emphasized with strong, dark outlines. These energetic brushstrokes suggest movement, as if wind is passing through the trees. In the middle ground, partially hidden by the leaves, a wooden cabin and small boat with a fisherman come into view. Although obscured at first glance, these elements remain present and distinct, encouraging closer observation. In the background, the sky is soft and muted, providing contrast to the vivid colors of the surrounding foliage. Rites’ composition is evenly arranged, with trees and plants spread across the scene creating a calm and peaceful setting. The bright greens, oranges, and blues maintain their intensity throughout the painting, rather than fading into the distance. This approach reflects the influence of Paul Cézanne, particularly in the use of color to build form and create this seasonal scene. Furthermore, the dense layering of leaves and overlapping forms fills out nearly the entire picture, leaving little space to spare. Overall, the work presents an upbeat and immersive view into the nature of an organic Autumn Day. About the Artist Unfortunately, little information is known about this artist. He was born in 1900 in Ithaca, NY, the son of a renowned engineer who had become wealthy from his patents. Rites’ parents separated, however, and his father died while Marion was still a teenager. He attended Ithaca High School and graduated from Cornell University in 1922. There are indications that he studied art in Paris and painted in Touraine, the Riviera, and Northern Africa (“Paintings”). His works were exhibited in 1932 at the Galerie de la Renaissance and received favorable mention for their cosmopolitanism and “painterly temperament” (Dictionaire). Rites was influenced by the French Impre…
creator: Rites, Marion B[ushanse] (1900 - ?)
source: New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 819
format: jpeg, 1.5 MB jpeg, 1.7 MB

Angler
description: A large and elegant boat dominates this scene, immediately drawing the viewer’s attention. Those few people visible in Jacks' print, scattered around the docks, appear almost ghost-like, as if incorporated into the backdrop. Their small number and otherworldly quality give the setting a sense of emptiness, making the composition feel mythical or even ominous. The Angler sits at a dock that is otherwise barren, and it is the only vessel present, further emphasizing the isolation of the scene. Jacks' use of space in her lithograph is particularly interesting, as it highlights the relationship between different elements. Small figures on an empty dock draw attention to the surrounding desolate space, creating a tension between isolation and the expansive landscape. The boat’s overwhelming size compared to the people suggests visual weight, whereas the figures appear vulnerable and hidden in the background, reinforcing the boat’s symbolic importance. The Angler itself floats on what appears to be windy water, with small, calm ripples outlined in sharp black. Overhead, the sky shifts from light to dark, moving from the top left to the right side and guiding the viewer’s gaze across the scene. This shift in tone moves the mood from calm to ominous. About the Artist Mabel Wellington Jack was born in 1899 in New York City. During her early life, she lived in Ohio and traveled frequently with her parents on one of the last showboats to sail down the Mississippi River. She was educated in Midwest private schools, where she received several art scholarships. From roughly 1935 to 1943, she worked as an artist for the New York Art Project and the Federal Art Project (FAP), also creating artworks for the New View Hospital and Home during this time. She was mainly a printmaker who experimented with bold and dramatic nautical themes during the WPA era. Like another of her works from this period, Swan Dive (1935), they can be appreciated as “representative of a new world into which …
creator: Jack, Mabel Wellington (1899-1975)
source: New Deal Museum, Mt. Morris NY Object #FA 48
format: jpeg, 693 KB