Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s

Rudnick, Allison, with contributions by Kirsten Pai Buick, Max Fraser, and Rachel Mustalish
2023
208 pages
155 illustrations
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American art in the 1930s—intertwined with the political, social, and economic tumult of an era not so unlike our own—engaged with the public amid global upheaval. This publication examines the search for artistic identity in the United States from the stock market crash of 1929 that began the Great Depression to the closure of the Works Progress Administration in 1943 with a focus on the unprecedented dissemination of art and ideas brought about by new technology and government programs. During this time of civil, economic, and social unrest, artists transmitted political ideas and propaganda through a wide range of media, including paintings and sculptures, but also journals, prints, textiles, postcards, and other objects that would have been widely collected, experienced, or encountered. Insightful essays discuss but go beyond the era’s best-known creators, such as Thomas Hart Benton, Walker Evans, Marsden Hartley, and Georgia O’Keeffe, to highlight artists who have received little scholarly attention, including women and artists of color as well as designers and illustrators. Emphasizing the contributions of the Black Popular Front and Leftist movements while acknowledging competing visions of the country through the lenses of race, gender, and class, Art for the Millions is a timely look at art in the United States made by and for its people.

John Brown, John Steuart Curry  American, Oil on canvas
John Steuart Curry
1939
Old John Brown of Kansas, 1800-1859, Reuben Kadish  American, Lithograph
Reuben Kadish
WPA
1936
Death of a Miner, Ben Shahn  American, born Lithuania, Tempera on paper attached to muslin on wood
Ben Shahn
1949
Lincoln Kirstein, Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein  American, Egg tempera on panel
Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein
1941
Night Scene Theme Center, from the New York World's Fair series (PC225-6), Gemloid Corporation  American, Commercial color lithograph
Gemloid Corporation
1939
The Welder, Dox Thrash  American, Carborundum mezzotint
Dox Thrash
ca. 1936–41
Glory Be, Dox Thrash  American, Carborundum mezzotint, aquatint, and etching
Dox Thrash
ca. 1938–42
Jitterbugs V, William Henry Johnson  American, Color screenprint
William Henry Johnson
ca. 1941–42
Leo McMillan
WPA
1937
The Soup Kitchen, Norman Lewis  American, Lithograph
Norman Lewis
ca. 1937
Three Lane Traffic, Harry Gottlieb  American, Lithograph
Harry Gottlieb
WPA
1937
[Demonstration, San Francisco], Dorothea Lange  American, Gelatin silver print
Dorothea Lange
1933
Strike Over Murder of Union Agent, Weegee  American, born Austria-Hungary, Gelatin silver print
Weegee
ca. 1940
Miner Joe, Elizabeth Olds  American, Screenprint
Elizabeth Olds
1942
Night Repairs, Louis Lozowick  American, born Ukraine, Lithograph
Louis Lozowick
WPA
1939
Builders, Harry Sternberg  American, Lithograph
Harry Sternberg
WPA
1935
Rock Drillers, Harry Gottlieb  American, Screenprint
Harry Gottlieb
WPA
1939
Asphalt Workers, James Lesesne Wells  American, Lithograph
James Lesesne Wells
1940
San Francisco Pier, David Paul Chun  American, Lithograph
David Paul Chun
WPA
1943
Curtain Factory, Riva Helfond  American, Lithograph
Riva Helfond
WPA
ca. 1936–39
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Rudnick, Allison, Kirsten Pai Buick, Max Fraser, Rachel Mustalish, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, eds. 2023. Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.