2 10 294 https://openvalley.org/files/original/67edbfd67869fef81d60efb140a8db1a.jpg 0c5ae992e33cf6078f6a7b3eb95c77d3 https://openvalley.org/files/original/a33c2a3b160b80b78e4f2e9b12b5b2db.jpg 63210cd51d6cc1b8a2ee02dcc6e00999 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Drypoint on paper Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Image: 15 x 11 in. Framed: 25 1/2 x 21 3/4 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Near Kingston Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.5 MB jpeg, 692 KB Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Blanch, Arnold (1896 - 1968) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource c. 1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rivera, Dominc (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 184 Description An account of the resource A rural landscape near Kingston, NY is structured to guide a viewer's eye from foreground into the middle distance through a gently curving route or boundary line, creating depth by progressively reducing detail as the land recedes. The image relies on value contrast and line to organize space: darker masses (tree trunks, corn shocks, and rooflines) anchor the middle ground, while lighter passages suggest open fields and atmospheric conditions. The drypoint technique contributes an airy, foglike quality to the surroundings. Architectural elements, such as a farmhouse and outbuildings, situate the landscape as inhabited, not strictlly “wild” scenery. The farm does not appear to be deserted, either, still a viable operation set against a smokestack in the distant city. Arnold's mood is quiet and restrained; rather than dramatic action, his print emphasizes place, structure, and everyday continuity, aligning with the era's interest in depicting the American Scene. Arnold Blanch Drypoint Federal Art Project Kingston, NY New Deal Museum https://openvalley.org/files/original/482331416227ee5746ec3275b058c88e.jpg bfd27bf44f4adda8d165a27d5b7ce43c https://openvalley.org/files/original/cc06479904d352c427b23f257036308a.jpg 2e8423c763a5618ef98eca0202e4b775 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Color lithograph Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Window: 14 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. Sheet: 17 x 14 3/4 in. Mat: 19 1/4 x 17 1/8 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New for Old Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.5 MB jpeg, 939 KB Description An account of the resource New for Old is a color lithograph, showing buildings on a street and a crane-like machine. There are what looks like building materials next to the machine. The buildings’ proportions feel slightly off, just enough where they seem to bend a little. Though the focal point would seem to be the construction, but the viewer does not get a good view of the construction itself, as there is a part of a wall still standing, and a dirt pile where the building materials are, along with the body of the crane machine. There is no movement in the print—no figures actively working on the construction site, or people on the street. The colors are muted yellow and blue, created an aged, washed-out effect on the print. The only dark part of the print is the bottom right corner where the building materials and dirt pile are. The print overall has an unsettling feeling to it, devoid of any living things and its washed-out color. It might suggest that perhaps this construction is not a good thing, because of the dark only around the building materials and the emptiness. It might make the audience wonder what the “old” was that is getting replaced, and what the replacement is. Though when compared to a similar print, Burke’s Delousing, which has a darker atmosphere and connotation to the title (“delousing” meaning to get rid of lice or other parasitic insects), New for Old seems to be a more positive—while still eerie—depiction of change and construction. About the Artist A pioneer in screen printing, Leonard Pytlak was born in 1910 in Newark, New Jersey. He attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, and the Art Students League in New York. Pytlak specialized in printmaking, both serigraphs and lithographs. He also painted, creating a mural for Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, under the WPA in the 30s. In 1938, he worked for the FAP in New York, in the Graphic Section, part of the silkscreen unit. He was a founding member of the National Serigraph Society and was elected twice as president. He had several solo exhibitions in the 40s, and was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941 to investigate new techniques in color lithography and serigraphy. He also won awards from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Print Club, the Philadelphia Color Print Society, the Seattle Art Museum, the National Academy of Design, and the Library of Congress. During the 1960s, Pytlak taught drawing, painting, and screen printing, and ran a class for disabled students for the New York State Rehabilitation Department. 108 works at <a href="https://www.philamuseum.org/collection?artist=Leonard%20Pytlak">Philadelphia Museum of Art</a>. 22 works at <a href="https://www.nga.gov/artists/5289-leonard-pytlak/artworks">National Gallery of Art</a>. 8 works at <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/artist/leonard-pytlak-3901">The Smithsonian American Art Museum</a>. 1 work at <a href="https://www.mmoca.org/artist/leonard-pytlak/">Madison Museum of Contemporary Art</a>. 4 works at <a href="https://collections.mfa.org/search/objects/*/leonard%20pytlak">Boston Museum of Fine Arts</a>. 3 works at <a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/search/collection?artist_maker=Leonard+Pytlak">Brooklyn Museum</a>. 24 works at Metropolitan Museum of Art. 7 images at <a href="https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/federal-art-project-photographic-division-collection-5467/series-1/box-18-folder-40" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FAP</a>. 32 images at <a href="https://art.gsa.gov/people/1946/leonard-pytlak/objects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GSA</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pytlak, Leonard (1910–1998) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource c. 1935 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Singer, Ella (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Musueum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 84 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Federal Art Project Leonard Pytlak lithograph New Deal Museum Urban Setting https://openvalley.org/files/original/129066cf8bc4508bced4de781471705c.jpg 932570e8ccf18d7549e3b5730b670414 https://openvalley.org/files/original/c42d58bd8d33d7877b47ffe2da8011ce.jpg 53866ca7f87f9f7b655a8cf8ae6f147b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Oil on paper Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Window: 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. Sheet: 21 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cement Plant Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.7 MB jpeg, 971 KB Description An account of the resource Three men are working in the yard of a cement and tar factory, located alongside a river; they lean into their work of moving large drums. There are small smokestacks on the building and tugs hauling barges in the background. Wilson uses asymmetrical lines, oriented in different directions, to shape the composition—including rooflines, roadways, river banks, lines of barrels, and even stacked pallets. The factory building is radically compressed into geometric shapes. Considering its industrial subject matter, the painting’s earth tones and splashes of pastel colors are visually pleasing and harmonize with the river and buildings on the opposite shore. The distinctively shaped bridge suggests that it might be one located at Hell’s Gate, in which case there is an intriguing historical possibility: at this time, WPA funds were constructing <a href="https://openvalley.org/items/show/2175">a massive swimming complex at Astoria Park</a> that required a lot of concrete. Juxtaposing that job site and Wilson’s painting clarifies the choices he made to idealize the worth of public works and a return of employment. Note: records indicate that this painting was allocated to "Sen. Buckley." This may have been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Buckley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John L. Buckley</a>, who represented NY State Senate District 15 between 1927 and 1942. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wilson, Sol (1893 - 1974) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1936 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hudson, Timothy (description) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 138 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Astoria Park Federal Art Project Hell Gate Bridge New Deal Museum painting Sol Wilson https://openvalley.org/files/original/5de1c225808b362a8970e3b04c1aba0b.jpg 49f45be47ba23d9bc8ee2b80724f6622 https://openvalley.org/files/original/62feed3e8e1671e46871a6a0a1bc3340.jpg 824bb1407403829bb68a315cd0e777fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Lithograph on paper Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image 15 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource River Front Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.7 MB jpeg, 843 KB Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weiner, Isadore (1910 - ?) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 1553 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Description An account of the resource Harshly contrasting light values depict a factory of some kind, comprised of buildings, machinery, smokestacks, and mounds of an unidentifiable substance. The black & white lithograph’s upper third is framed by billowing smoke, the bottom portion by raw materials and the plant creating all the pollution. In the center is another, brightly lit pile of raw materials and seemingly our only glimpse outside of the factory. Weiner’s title is darkly ironic, for there’s no river to be seen... just this and other factories depending upon the waterway for transportation. The artist also created other visions of Great Lakes industry with sharply different tones, like his colorful <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/126966/spring-and-industry">Spring and Industry</a> (1939). About the Artist There is conflicting information about the life of this Federal Art Project lithographer. It’s agreed that he was born 1910 in Chicago, studied at the Art Institute in that city, and shared studio space with fellow lithographers <a href="https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Max+Kahn">Max Kahn</a>, <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/search/artworks?content_type=artwork&persons%5b%5d=6108">Misch Kohn</a>, and <a href="https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Eleanor+Coen">Eleanor Coen</a>—a less structured arrangement than the centralized Graphic Arts Division in New York City. Carl Zigrosser suggests that “most of the graphic work was apprentice work, that is to say, steps toward the mastery of technique and méitier,” although to be kinder the group was very experimental and ambitious. His work appeared at group shows in the city (<a href="https://archive.org/details/per_chicago-daily-tribune_1938-06-16_97_143/page/n15/mode/1up?q=%22isadore+weiner%22">1</a>, <a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_artnews_1940-03-23_38_25/page/n12/mode/1up?q=%22isadore+weiner%22">2</a>, <a href="https://archive.org/details/per_chicago-daily-tribune_1941-03-02_100_9/page/n101/mode/1up?q=%22isadore+weiner%22">3</a>), and at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York (Jewell). At this point the narrative diverges. <a href="https://archive.org/details/whowaswhoinameri0003unse/page/3501/mode/1up">Who Was Who in American Art</a> holds that Weiner “committed suicide after 1940, perhaps in Chicago” and the Metropolitan Museum of Art still gives his life dates as 1910-1940. Most other institutions, however, have Weiner relocating to California until his death in 1964. If so, then a household under that name and his wife, Grace, were living in Burbank as of 1950 (US Census). That Isadore Weiner gave his occupation as freelance artist and packaging designer—still adjacent to lithography, but perhaps in a more commercial vein. The problem with this supposition is that of an apparent father living next door with a different name than Chicago census records. It seems safest to state only that Weiner was born in Chicago, and produced challenging lithographs for the Federal Art Project. 21 works at <a href="https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Isadore+Weiner">Art Institute of Chicago</a>. 8 works at <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/search/artworks?content_type=artwork&persons%5b%5d=6108">Smithsonian American Art Museum</a>. 9 works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 5 images at <a href="https://art.gsa.gov/people/2645/isadore-weiner/objects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GSA</a>. Works Consulted: Carl Zigrosser, Misch Kohn (American Federation of Arts, 1961) <a href="https://archive.org/details/mischkohn0000carl/mode/1up">Link</a>; Peter Hastings Falk, ed. Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1974, vol. 3 (Sound View, 1999): 3501; 1950 US Census for Burbank, Los Angeles Co., California d.E.D. #62-79 <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/62146189?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a226378486c684d6f6679747a695a6f554e53357643385836716a714d6d3936785a6a4b627765486f762f55773d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d">Link</a>; Edward Alden Jewell, “American Art at the World’s Fair,” New York Times 26 May 1940: 149 <a href="https://nyti.ms/4a73H0H">Link</a>. Federal Arts Project industrialization Isadore Weiner lithograph New Deal Museum https://openvalley.org/files/original/48f86a50f009bd084b61c33b596e56ea.jpg 5900118ee2a32e646d1f65e86090cdf1 https://openvalley.org/files/original/6c4bee099f04be4b74f0c00dcd15f09b.jpg 493cfb5f6ce76f3c9cc1cace76d7ba4c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Drypoint engraving Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Manhattan from Brooklyn Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Borne, Mortimer (1900 - 1987) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Helquist, Morgan (photographer) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 27302 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 2 MB jpeg, 488 KB Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Description An account of the resource 12 images at <a href="https://art.gsa.gov/people/1000/mortimer-borne/objects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GSA</a>. Drypoint Federal Art Project Manhattan Mortimer Borne New Deal Museum https://openvalley.org/files/original/ec0663ec8aba2dfb5523f6fd1033f3fa.jpg 145678f6b0f5bad93e84190e4c01fc47 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Oil on canvas painting Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Canvas: 30 x 24 in. Frame: 36 x 30 1/2 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Ridge Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nelson, (Ernest) Bruce, 1888 - 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource c. 1935 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 832 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.9 MB jpeg, 1.4 MB Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Description An account of the resource It is an early spring day in Central Park—apparently near the Gapstow Bridge at the northeast end of the pond (follow <a href="https://openvalley.org/items/show/2186" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this link</a> to see a contemporary photo from an approximate location). Nelson’s post-impressionist design has a range of warm earth tones trailing across the painting’s center, set against cooler blues and violets of the pond and skyscrapers in the distance. His lines and units of construction are geometric, even blocky. Particularly interesting is how early season buds and leaves are rendered as a semi-transparent cloud hovering around the architecture of tree branches. Like other painters of Central Park, there seems to be a kind of marveling at the presence of both a modern city and nature, albeit artfully designed. Nelson’s painting <a href="https://dbgetvisual.blogspot.com/2010/01/american-impressionist-landscapes-at.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April in Central Park</a> (c. 1935-43) appears to have been created at about the same time. About the Artist Born in Santa Clara, CA, Nelson studied art while pursuing a degree in engineering at Stanford University, shifting first to architecture and then painting as a full-time avocation. He relocated to New York, studying at the Art Students League with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_DuMond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frank DuMond</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Birge_Harrison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">L. Birge Harrison</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fabian_Carlson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Fabian Carlson</a>. When he returned to California, this time in San Francisco, Nelson had developed an impressionist style that nevertheless was his own. An otherwise admiring review of a 1914 show quibbled that his work was “still a trifle experimental, but it is sound and strong, wholesome and healthy” (Maxwell). Subsequent historians have suggested that Nelson was an early West Coast adopter of flatter, more decorative styles and the geometric, blocky post-impressionism of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wendt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">William Wendt</a> (Caldwell; Gerdts). During a five-year period Nelson was a prolific and well-regarded painter with large individual shows in San Francisco, Monterey, Oakland, and Los Angeles. He received a silver medal for <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artwork/bruce-nelson-the-summer-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Summer Sea</a> at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Nelson was drafted into the Army Camouflage Corps in 1917 then after the war returned to New York City, where he seems to have exhibited little and made a living by his upstate landscapes, commissioned mural work, and as a portrait painter. There is little public information about this last period. Nelson died in 1971. 2 works at <a href="https://collections.fenimoreart.org/people/303/ernest-bruce-nelson/objects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fenimore Art Museum</a>. 2 works at <a href="https://www.crockerart.org/art/search?search=&size=24&from=0&order=asc&sort=artists.lastNameOrCultureRange.keyword&artist=all&timePeriod=all&medium=all&collection=all&keywords=all&theme=all&artistId=62faa8a0-dda8-11ea-8b2c-63831b7d871f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crocker Art Museum</a>. 1 work at <a href="https://www.famsf.org/artworks/the-village" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fine Art Museums of San Francisco</a>. 1 work at <a href="https://cantorcollection.stanford.edu/objects-1/info?query=mfs%20all%20%22bruce%20nelson%22&sort=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cantor Arts Center</a>. 7 works at <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bruce_Nelson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a>. 1 image at <a href="https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/federal-art-project-photographic-division-collection-5467/series-1/box-17-folder-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FAP</a>. Works Consulted Everett C. Maxwell, “Art,” Los Angeles Graphic 28 Mar. 1914: 9 <a href="http://archive.org/details/cl_000710/page/n10/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>; William H. Gerdts, “The Land of Sunshine” (2002), courtesy of Traditional Fine Arts Organization <a href="https://tfaoi.org/aa/4aa/4aa118d.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>; John Caldwell, “California Impressionism: A Critical Essay,” pp. 12-15 in Impressionism: The California View (1981) <a href="https://archive.org/details/impressionismcal0000unse/page/n4/mode/1up?q=+%22bruce+nelson%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>; Robert B. Harshe, “A Wonderful One Man Show,” San Francisco News Letter 4 Dec. 1915: 29 <a href="https://archive.org/details/sfnewsletter90unse/page/n694/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>. Bruce Nelson Central Park Federal Art Project New Deal Museum painting https://openvalley.org/files/original/9a0a4290d4c95ffb8c130cc233d7a4ca.jpg 3ef4e6f559c1db812e61ac723d67c6c6 https://openvalley.org/files/original/35a972bf20af6fff4715c68b5d188279.jpg 703485651b3ec708031495ef16cd84d5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Etching on paper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Old Shed Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.8 MB jpeg, 1.2 MB Description An account of the resource At first glance, everything about Weissbuch's etching indicates rural squalor and decline. Fallen tree limbs and roughly cut stumps are scattered across the composition; even standing trees seem to be in a state of decay. The shed itself has been constructed of bricks and roughly cut limbs for its roof joists. Only a man tucked into the frame at far right shows that the structure still is in active use. For all of that, however, it still looks sturdy and tucked into the side of this hill. Weissbuch uses darker, denser lines to portray the foreground, which is set against a conventionally picturesque valley in the background, delineated with a few lighter strokes to indicate a fence and farm- or pastureland. One implication is that a close-up visit to any location in this rural area will provide a similarly unrefined view: the reality of rural America exceeds pastoral fantasies or squalid ruins. About the Artist The son of Romanian immigrants, Weissbuch grew up in Brooklyn and already was working at a hat factory by the age of fifteen. Weissbuch studied at the Yale University School of Fine Arts, the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, and the Art Students League (where he likely encountered the influential abstractionist Hans Hoffman). Beginning in 1934, Weissbuch worked on various WPA programs for seven years (Public Works of Art Project, Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, Federal Art Project), altogether producing 23 recorded prints. His works were widely exhibited in New York (including MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and Albright-Knox Museum), along with traveling shows to California, England, and Scandinavia. Weissbuch also became an important mentor within the Graphic Arts Division. For a short time he was appointed its supervisor, and along with his predecessors was “liked and respected by the artists. They showed sympathy and understanding and stood up for the artists under the pressures of the Project administration, which in turn was under political pressure” (Kainen 170). One such pressure by the late 1930s was a call for graphic works supporting European Allies and military preparation, rather than landscapes or social criticism. Late in 1941, Weissbuch began teaching at the newly established <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munson-Williams-Proctor_Arts_Institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utica Art School</a>, created by the Munson – Williams – Proctor Arts Institute. Its egalitarian mission announced that faculty, “when executing their own professional work, will welcome students and the general public who may thus observe their methods in practice” (Art Digest 1 Dec. 1941: 29). Alongside American art generally, Weissbuch’s work during the 1940s moved in a direction of increasing abstraction—for example, <a href="https://munson.emuseum.com/objects/1932/backyard-in-summer?ctx=4715703bae747f0b36f946b02d2517711b4029c3&idx=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Backyard in Summer”</a> (1942) and <a href="https://munson.emuseum.com/objects/10524/rooftops-no-1?ctx=4715703bae747f0b36f946b02d2517711b4029c3&idx=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Rooftops, No. 1”</a> (1943)—and then fully embraced it by the end of his life in works like <a href="https://munson.emuseum.com/objects/1057/sea-motif?ctx=4715703bae747f0b36f946b02d2517711b4029c3&idx=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Sea Motif”</a> (1948). Given Weissbuch’s fascination with motific patterns and textures seen in FAP prints of the 1930s, though, perhaps abstraction makes sense as a latent potential within his earlier work. He was a brief, but meaningful influence upon the Pop artist Robert Indiana, who took classes at the Utica Art School while stationed near there in the amy (Ryan 271). But it seems there had been many other apprentices taught by Weissbuch along the way. 18 works at the <a href="https://www.philamuseum.org/collection?artist=Oscar%20Weissbuch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia Museum of Art</a>. 2 works at the <a href="https://www.nga.gov/artists/34125-oscar-weissbuch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Gallery of Art</a>. 2 works at the <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/artist/oscar-weissbuch-5309" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smithsonian American Art Museum</a>. 4 works at <a href="https://munson.emuseum.com/search/Weissbuch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munson Museum</a>. 1 work at the <a href="https://digital.wolfsonian.org/node/67534?search_api_fulltext=weissbuch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wolfsonian-FIU</a>. 4 versions of “Gypsy Fortune Teller,” illustrating stages of the woodcut printing process, at <a href="https://dac-collection.wesleyan.edu/artist-maker/info/38000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wesleyan University Davison Art Collection</a>. 5 images at <a href="https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/federal-art-project-photographic-division-collection-5467/series-1/box-23-folder-54" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FAP</a>. 16 images at <a href="https://art.gsa.gov/search/weissbuch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GSA</a>. Works Consulted: Olga M. Viso, “The Golden Age of American Printmaking, 1900-1950”  (1994), courtesy TFAO <a href="https://www.tfaoi.org/aa/9aa/9aa175.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>; Edward Lewis, “3 Shows Open at Print Club,” Philadelphia Inquirer 27 Mar. 1938: 16; Jacob Kainen, “The Graphic Arts Division of the WPA Federal Arts Project,” in The New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs, ed. Francis V. O’Connor (1972) <a href="https://archive.org/details/newdealartprojec0000unse_m0q7/page/154/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>; Susan Elizabeth Ryan, Robert Indiana: Figures of Speech (2000); Peter Hastings Falk, ed., Who Was Who in American Art (1999) <a href="https://archive.org/details/whowaswhoinameri0003unse/page/3507/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weissbuch, Oscar (1904-1948) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1942 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 27776 Etching Federal Art Project New Deal Museum Oscar Weissbuch rural Squalor https://openvalley.org/files/original/cd26e99e03b402acf674faab4f127684.jpg 16b61eb39d2286fef6efd23040764dc7 https://openvalley.org/files/original/e772e2fae777b883eb51373263afedb4.jpg 8d1b14e83edfb1de8b954f3a57e82191 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Oil on canvas painting Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Image: 29 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. Framed: 35 1/4 x 29 1/4 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Old Glass Factory Description An account of the resource Old Glass Factory depicts a rural landscape featuring a small unconventional factory settled within a deep valley. In the foreground, a dirt path curves from the lower left corner of the piece, drawing the viewer's eye into the midground and focus of the scene. In the midground, two thin, tall trees with autumn leaves stand parallel to each other framing the main building behind them, providing a sense of balance in the painting despite its overall asymmetrical composition. In the background, we see an extension of the hilly landscape that creates an image of isolation as the structures stand alone in the open hills.   Smith uses contrast to distinctly separate the foreground from this landscape backdrop. The hills fading into the skyline with a similar color palette amongst them forces the land closer to us to pop as it’s more saturated.   As far as technique, Smith uses a combination of broad blended brushstrokes in the background to soften forms and reinforce the perspective. On the factory building itself, however, he utilizes thinner, controlled brush strokes to create sharper lines that accentuate the important foreground subjects. He uses color to create a quiet, fresh, calming atmosphere. Warmer tones dominate the piece however the natural aspects of the piece such as the grassy hills and the autumn trees, contrast the manufactured structures that are made up of deeper and more neutral tones.   About the Artist The painter of this work cannot be attributed with confidence, as yet, in part due to three artists with the same name and a lack of clear provenance. One candidate is Edward Gregory Smith (1880-1961), a Connecticut landscape painting and longtime president of the Lyme Art Association. Consultation with that organization noted that he signed his work as "Gregory Smith" and, as a lifelong Republican, probably would have been hostile to participation in Roosevelt's Federal Art Project.  Another candidate is Edward Herndon Smith (1891-1979), a painter from Mobile, AL who was employed in the FAP as an artist (1935) and then superviser (1936-1940). He continued to paint and create murals after WWII. Research into this possiblility is ongoing. Finally, Edward Leslie Smith (1891-1960) was a commercial artist in Oakland, CA but had no documented connection to the FAP. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 2 MB jpeg, 1.5 MB Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Smith, Edward Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Killelea, Keira (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 820 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Edward Smith Federal Art Project New Deal Museum painting rural https://openvalley.org/files/original/d883b956b943c3237c2296aa5d4d4b4c.jpg 786cce1f4dcf7ea5dcf28fa0b12dddcb https://openvalley.org/files/original/667e6454e2e183237a6dc19190c0feed.jpg 5d339c497b356e64735d72d441819afe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Oil on canvas Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image 20 3/4 x 25 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summer Breeze Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 2.7 MB jpeg, 1 MB Description An account of the resource Summer Breeze depicts a rural landscape arranged across a shallow but continuous picture plane. In the foreground, a pale dirt path curves from the lower right corner toward the center of the composition, cutting through an open field of grass. The ground is painted with loose, visible brushstrokes in light greens, yellows, and earth tones, creating an uneven surface. Small patches of vegetation and low shrubs appear scattered across the field. Slightly left of center, a small cow stands near a cluster of bushes. Several tall, slender trees rise vertically in the middle ground, their trunks thin and their foliage rendered with small touches of green and yellow. Behind the trees, a group of small farm buildings occupies the middle ground. Additional buildings extend toward the right, partially covered by trees and greenery. These structures appear smaller in scale than the trees and the field. The sky fills the upper portion of the composition and is painted in pale blue and gray tones with horizontal bands of soft clouds, accented with light pink and yellow highlights. The composition is asymmetrical, organized by the curving diagonal of the path and the vertical emphasis of the trees. Cool greens and blues fill the field and sky, while warm tones in the buildings create contrast and a focal area. Depth is suggested through overlapping forms, shifts in scale, and softer detail in the distance. About the Artist Joseph Sabalauskas (1896? –1970) was a Lithuanian-born American artist active in New York during the early to mid-twentieth century. Born in Lithuania, he immigrated to the United States and arrived in New York in 1927. By 1931, records show him living in Manhattan and working professionally as an artist. He served as a private in the United States Army during World War I before establishing his life and career in New York. Although little is known about his training or exhibitions, Sabalauskas’ artistic activity is confirmed through works in the U.S. General Services Administration Fine Arts Collection, where three pieces are attributed to him. These holdings suggest he may have been connected to federal art initiatives that supported artists during the Depression era. Later in life, he resided in Kings Park, Suffolk County, New York. Sabalauskas died in August 1970 and was buried at Long Island National Cemetery, leaving limited but documented evidence of his career as a New York–based immigrant artist. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sabalauskas, Joseph (1896? - 1970) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Murty, Molly (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 27739 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Federal Art Project Joseph Sabalauscas Landscape Art New Deal Museum painting https://openvalley.org/files/original/786af418b8de0bba6bf787d0530630fe.jpg 687c704999896adf449ed03d93815208 https://openvalley.org/files/original/416142f38d58021006d9db1688f0f8c7.jpg 20f1fb7e2d6ea6cfb09d6c93323f0070 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Deal Gallery Description An account of the resource This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame. Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1935-1940 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cooper, Ken (project director) Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant) Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee. Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data Color lithograph on paper Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Image: 10 3/4 x 14 in. Frame: 17 1/8 x 21 in. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Uptown Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg, 1.6 MB jpeg, 467 KB Description An account of the resource Uptown depicts an urban street scene dominated by an elevated railway structure that extends diagonally across the composition. The green metal platform is supported by vertical columns and railings, forming a geometric framework above the street. A train car sits on the elevated track; its windows are shining with yellow light that contrasts with the darker surroundings. Below the structure, a single figure walks across the street holding an umbrella. The figure appears dark and slightly blurred in comparison to the surrounding architectural elements. The street surface appears smooth and reflective. On the right side of the image, a brick building corner with a large window and a trash can sits close to the base of the railway support. Another tall brick building rises on the left side of the composition, where a rooftop sign with partially visible letters extends into the sky. Above the buildings, a dark and cloudy sky fills the upper portion of the image. The composition emphasizes strong directional lines and contrasts in value. The diagonal placement of the elevated railway organizes the scene and creates movement across the image. Vertical columns and horizontal platform edges create a structural grid that balances the composition. Color contrasts also play a role in emphasizing key elements. Cool green and gray tones dominate the railway and sky, while warmer reddish hues define the brick buildings. The bright yellow train windows introduce a concentrated area of light and serve as a visual focal point against the darker environment. Spatial depth is suggested through overlapping forms, with the walking figure and street occupying the foreground, the railway supports forming the middle ground, and the buildings and sky receding into the background. About the Artist Leonard Pytlak (1910–1998) was an American serigrapher, lithographer, painter, teacher, and lecturer born in Newark, New Jersey. He studied at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art before continuing his education at the Art Students League in New York, where he was likely introduced to printmaking. Pytlak became an active member of the Graphic Arts Division of the New York City Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1941, producing prints and contributing to public art initiatives. Under the WPA/FAP, he completed a mural for Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn and developed a body of work that reflected everyday urban life in New York City. Pytlak was a founding member and twice president of the National Serigraph Society and was also affiliated with the Artists League of America, Audubon Artists, and the Philadelphia Color Print Society. His lithographs from the mid-1930s to early 1940s often depicted New York scenes such as the Bowery and Central Park. In 1943, he contributed the screenprint They Serve on All Fronts to the exhibition <a href="https://www.1stdibs.com/art/prints-works-on-paper/abstract-prints-works-on-paper/leonard-pytlak-whistle/id-a_15705292/">“America in the War,” organized by Artists for Victory</a>. The work, portraying a frontline medical surgery unit, won second prize in the serigraphy category. Throughout his career, <a href="https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=Pytlak%2C+Leonard">Pytlak exhibited widely</a>, including at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he received a prize in 1942, as well as at other major institutions. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941. In addition to his artistic production, Pytlak dedicated many years to teaching drawing, painting, and screen printing. During the 1960s, he led a private class for students with disabilities through the New York State Rehabilitation Department. In 1982, the Craft Students League Gallery in New York mounted a retrospective of his fifty years of printmaking, recognizing his contributions to American graphic arts. 108 works at <a href="https://www.philamuseum.org/collection?artist=Leonard%20Pytlak">Philadelphia Museum of Art</a>. 22 works at <a href="https://www.nga.gov/artists/5289-leonard-pytlak/artworks">National Gallery of Art</a>. 8 works at <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/artist/leonard-pytlak-3901">The Smithsonian American Art Museum</a>. 1 work at <a href="https://www.mmoca.org/artist/leonard-pytlak/">Madison Museum of Contemporary Art</a>. 4 works at <a href="https://collections.mfa.org/search/objects/*/leonard%20pytlak">Boston Museum of Fine Arts</a>. 3 works at <a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/search/collection?artist_maker=Leonard+Pytlak">Brooklyn Museum</a>. 24 works at Metropolitan Museum of Art. 32 images at <a href="https://art.gsa.gov/people/1946/leonard-pytlak/objects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GSA</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pytlak, Leonard (1910 - 1998) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Federal Art Project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource c. 1935 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Murty, Molly (description and biography) Helquist, Morgan (photography) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY Object #FA 1404 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Elevated Train Federal Art Project Leonard Pytlak lithograph New Deal Museum Urban Setting