Dec 2 2023 - Mar 18 2024
San Marino, CA
“Art for the People: WPA-Era Paintings from the Dijkstra Collection,” includes 19 striking works that will be on view in the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art from Dec. 2, 2023, through March 4, 2024. Drawn from the collection of Sandra and Bram Dijkstra, “Art for the People” and its accompanying catalog explore representational paintings created in the United States between the 1929 stock market crash and World War II. Organized by the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California; the Oceanside Museum of Art in Oceanside, California; and The Huntington, the exhibition focuses on federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) artists of the 1930s and early 1940s who were employed by the government to help stimulate the post-Depression economy. More than 10,000 artists participated, creating works that represented the nation and its people and seeking to express fundamental human concerns, basic democratic principles, and the plight of the dispossessed.
“Art for the People” highlights paintings from across the United States, with strong representation by California artists, artists of color, women artists, and Jewish artists who have generally been omitted from the WPA-era narrative. The exhibition includes paintings that are often described as American Expressionism or American Scene, depicting both urban and rural subjects and focusing on the lives of average Americans.
The exhibition’s installation at The Huntington will feature paintings by 18 artists, including works that were given to The Huntington by the Dijkstras, such as Soldier (1944), a major work by African American artist Charles White. White made the painting after he had been drafted into the U.S. Army. In it, a soldier stands alone in a barren landscape under a turbulent sky. It is a powerful image of an enlisted man—a self-portrait of sorts—experiencing isolation, horror, and existential doubt.
Accompanied by a fully illustrated hardcover catalog
Credit: Overview from museum website