Part of FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration was a government agency that employed millions of jobseekers, primarily uneducated men, to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. As part of the goals of the WPA, thousands of artists were commissioned to create murals, sculptures, graphic art, posters and more, which sought to encourage the public and “strengthen the nation’s infrastructure with elegant design and beautiful decoration.”
Dorothea Lange (1895-1956), Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936. Gelatin silver print photograph. Printed 1970s. Estimate: $4/6,000
This January, Swann Auction Galleries will present its Artists of the WPA sale, featuring a range of WPA artists who honed their skills through New Deal programs, and many of whom achieved international praise later in their careers. Among the artists whose work will be on offer in the upcoming sale is Dorothea Lange, who documented the hardships of American families facing unemployment, drought and poor living conditions. Her iconic 1936 photograph Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, printed again in the 1970s, has a presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. Another silver print, Drought refugee family from McAlester, Oklahoma, Arrived in California October 1936 to join the cotton harvest, Near Tulare, California, is expected to fetch between $5,000 and $7,000.
Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999), Two Men Talking, with Caps, 1938. Graphite drawing. Estimate: $3/5,000
Another artist in the sale is Paris-born Reginald Marsh, known for his depictions of everyday New York City life in the 1920s and ’30s. “Reginald Marsh, already well known for his art depicting the working-class citizens of New York City, was commissioned to create murals for the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in lower Manhattan. That building now houses the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian,” Swann Auction Galleries notes. Collectors will have the opportunity to bid on Marsh’s 1936 etching Manhattan Skyline (est. $2/3,000), as well as his 1949 oil Mother and Child (est. $1.2/1,800).
Leon Bibel (1913-1995), Descending. Silkscreen. Estimate: $2/4,000
“The New Deal programs also offered opportunities to African American artists. While the programs were not without oversites along racial lines, many important artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Charles Alston and Hughie Lee-Smith who worked in government funded print workshops,” the auction house notes. Two Men Talking, with Caps, a graphite drawing by Lee-Smith in 1938, has a presale estimate of $3,000 to $5,000.
Jack Tworkov (1900-1982), Still Life. Oil on canvas. Estimate: $3/5,000
The forthcoming sale will also include works by Karl R. Free, Jules Halfant, Carl Mydans, Ben Shawn, Leon Bibel and more.
Bidding is available through online platforms, absentee, the phone, and live in-person. A complete catalog and bidding information will be available at www.swanngalleries.com and on Swann’s mobile app a month prior to the sale. —
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