New Deal Artwork

In the depth of the Depression, New Mexicans welcomed New Deal programs of all kinds between 1933 - 1943. Some of the New Deal programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), put people to work in varying jobs. Writers, artists, and musicians practiced their trades as employees of WPA projects. By 1936 more than thirteen thousand New Mexicans had found jobs through this program.

The following New Mexico artists were among the many employed in WPA projects: Pablita Velarde, Maria Martinez, Ila McAfee, Gerald Cassidy, Will Shuster, Lloyd Moylan, Gisella Loeffler, Eliseo Rodriguez, Kenneth Adams, Fremont F. Ellis and Peter Hurd. This digital collection features a selection of their works.