Abstract
This paper examines how the United States Government program, New Deal for Artists (1931-1943), provided not only jobs to thousands of unemployed artists during the Depression Era, but more importantly how it afforded young artists—especially the future Abstract Expressionists—the opportunity to work as artists, thus preserving their skill-set and allowing them to experiment independently and to develop their individual, avant-garde art. The Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP) advanced the careers of young artists and was an indispensable impetus behind the new American art style: Abstract Expressionism. Because extensive government patronage allowed so many young artists to experiment in the 1930s, The New Deal for Artists helped pave the way for New York to replace Paris as the center of the international art world after WWII. Chapter 1 provides a brief history of the temporary art programs, as well as the art programs created under the WPA spanning from September 1931 to the creation of the Federal Art Project in 1935. Next, chapter 2 explores the Federal Art Project in more depth; specifically examining how the Project allowed young artists to experiment and create works for the WPA/FAP in a variety of styles including abstract art. Lastly, chapter 3 examines the formative years of Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner and Arshile Gorky; specifically looking at the young artists’ lives and their works created on the Federal Art Project. The WPA/FAP provided young American artists opportunities for growth and independent exploration. Furthermore, the WPA/FAP created a new audience for American Art through arts awareness and appreciation initiatives such as the development of community art centers and Arts Week. Lastly, the artist-government partnership of the WPA/FAP has led to the expanded government patronage that we see today on both the state and national levels.