Anonymous
Richard Jansen at Work Painting a Map of Wisconsin, ca. 1940
Silver gelatin print
Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Photography: Jon Bolton

WPA Art from RAM’s Collection

February 19 – June 4, 2017

When Wustum Museum of Fine Arts first opened, it did not have a permanent collection. Any of the work on display in the galleries was borrowed from artists, collectors, and other museums as short term loans. This changed, and Wustum became an institution with an art collection, when Sylvester Jerry, the museum’s first director, was able to obtain over 260 works produced through the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Working with state and local governments, the WPA was a national program that provided jobs and income for many unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Drawn from RAM’s holdings, this exhibition includes a selection of prints, watercolors, drawings, photographs, and textiles generated through the WPA. This gift of work was visionary for Wustum and RAM in that it foreshadowed what would eventually become the collecting foci—works on paper and contemporary craft.

Artists in the Exhibition

Berenice Abbott, Carlos Anderson, Kendrick Bell, Marie Bleck, Fritzi Brod, Ludwig Cinatl, Jr., Paul Clemens, Stuart Davis, Adolph Dehn, Mabel Dwight, Max Fernekes, Forrest Flower, George Herlick, Andrew Herman, Carl Hoeckner, Mabel Wellington Jack, Richard Jansen, Jacob Kainen, Edwin B, Knutesen, Ann Krasnen, Paul Lauterbach, Edmund D. Lewandowski, Schomer Lichtner, Louis Lozowick, Elizabeth Olds, Louis Lee Powell, David A Robbins, Robert Schellin, George Schreiber, Alfred Sessler, Agnes Jessen Slater, Isaac Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Charles Winstanley Thwaites, Barbara Warren, Brett Weston, and Santos Zingale

WPA Art from RAM’s Collection

February 19 – June 4, 2017
Anonymous
Richard Jansen at Work Painting a Map of Wisconsin, ca. 1940
Silver gelatin print
Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Photography: Jon Bolton

When Wustum Museum of Fine Arts first opened, it did not have a permanent collection. Any of the work on display in the galleries was borrowed from artists, collectors, and other museums as short term loans. This changed, and Wustum became an institution with an art collection, when Sylvester Jerry, the museum’s first director, was able to obtain over 260 works produced through the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Working with state and local governments, the WPA was a national program that provided jobs and income for many unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Drawn from RAM’s holdings, this exhibition includes a selection of prints, watercolors, drawings, photographs, and textiles generated through the WPA. This gift of work was visionary for Wustum and RAM in that it foreshadowed what would eventually become the collecting foci—works on paper and contemporary craft.

Artists in the Exhibition

Berenice Abbott, Carlos Anderson, Kendrick Bell, Marie Bleck, Fritzi Brod, Ludwig Cinatl, Jr., Paul Clemens, Stuart Davis, Adolph Dehn, Mabel Dwight, Max Fernekes, Forrest Flower, George Herlick, Andrew Herman, Carl Hoeckner, Mabel Wellington Jack, Richard Jansen, Jacob Kainen, Edwin B, Knutesen, Ann Krasnen, Paul Lauterbach, Edmund D. Lewandowski, Schomer Lichtner, Louis Lozowick, Elizabeth Olds, Louis Lee Powell, David A Robbins, Robert Schellin, George Schreiber, Alfred Sessler, Agnes Jessen Slater, Isaac Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Charles Winstanley Thwaites, Barbara Warren, Brett Weston, and Santos Zingale

Gallery of Work

Exhibitions at RAM are made possible by:

Platinum Sponsors

The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd
David Charak
Judith and David Flegel Fund
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ron and Judith Isaacs
Nicholas and Nancy Kurten
Rcf Logo 2021
Windgate Foundation

Diamond Sponsors

City of Racine’s Grow Racine Grant
Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation
Ruffo Family Foundation
Ruth Arts Foundation

Gold Sponsors

Anonymous
Tom and Irene Creecy
Richard and Patricia Ehlert
Herzfeld Foundation
Reliance Controls
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
Trio Foundation of St. Louis
W.T. Walker Group, Inc.
Wisconsin Arts Board

Silver Sponsors

Anonymous
Art Bridges
Baird
A.C. Buhler Family
Lucy G. Feller
Ben and Dawn Flegel
Jim Harris
Sharon and Tom Harty
Lise Iwon
J. Jeffers & Co.
Johnson Financial Group
Dorothy MacVicar
Jan Serr and John Shannon

Bronze Sponsors

Ellen and Joseph Albrecht
Andis Foundation
Susan Boland
Virginia Buhler
Butcher & Barrel/Amos Los Tacos
Educators Credit Union
Express Employment Professionals
Tony and Andrea Hauser
Bill and Debbie Keland
Susan Manalli
Jean and Alex Mandli, Jr.
The Prairie School
Cathy Stanghellin
Georgiana Treivush
Twin Disc, Inc.

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