Boondoggling: the New Deal and art

Abstract

Elected on November 8, 1932 by a nation desperately seeking a way out of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office at the White House on March 4, 1933 and immediately embarked on a programme to stimulate economic recovery. The least known aspect of this vast endeavour is undoubtedly the humanities, which were no less crippled by the crisis than industry and finance. This article, accompanied by images, will shed light on the New Deal and art.