New Deal Art

Explore a selection of New Deal artwork from the Museum collection.

FDR’s New Deal provided federally-funded jobs for millions of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression. These included tens of thousands of artists, including musicians, actors, dancers, writers, photographers, painters, and sculptors.

Government art programs rescued artists from poverty and despair. But they also served a larger purpose—to give all American access to art and culture. New Deal artists brought theater, music, and dance to every corner of the nation. They also created hundreds of thousands of public works of art—including paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture. The Museum collection includes hundreds of artworks produced by New Deal artists.