Treasury Section of Fine Arts

Treasury Section of Fine Arts
Name	Treasury Section of Fine Arts
Formed	1934
Predecessor	Public Works of Art Project
Dissolved	1943
Jurisdiction	United States Department of the Treasury
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Key people	Louis A. Simon, Edward Rowan, Lee Lawrie

Treasury Section of Fine Arts The Treasury Section of Fine Arts was a New Deal art program established in 1934 under the United States Department of the Treasury to commission public art for federal buildings, especially post offices and courthouses. It operated alongside initiatives such as the Public Works of Art Project, the Works Progress Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, and worked with architects, sculptors, painters, and muralists to integrate art into civic architecture across the United States. The Section played a central role in defining visual representation in federal spaces during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, interacting with figures and institutions from Louis A. Simon to the Smithsonian Institution and the Federal Art Project.

History

The Section emerged from debates in the 1930s about federal patronage that engaged Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harold L. Ickes, Harry Hopkins, Raymond Moley, and officials at the United States Department of the Treasury and the National Gallery of Art. It followed the earlier Public Works of Art Project and paralleled the Federal Art Project and relief efforts like the Civilian Conservation Corps. Major milestones included the 1934 establishment under Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., the appointment of supervising architects such as Louis A. Simon, and the program’s winding down after World War II as priorities shifted to the War Production Board and postwar reconstruction agencies, including the General Services Administration.

Organization and Leadership

Leadership combined architects, art administrators, and advisory panels drawn from institutions such as the National Academy of Design, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution. Key administrators included Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., and art advisors who worked with sculptors like Lee Lawrie and painters like Edward Hopper. The Section coordinated with regional post office managers, local municipal authorities, and national boards such as the United States Commission of Fine Arts and engaged critics and curators linked to the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Commissioning and Selection Process

The Section adopted competitive procedures that incorporated blind selection, anonymous sketches, and site-specific design briefs, concepts also used by the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration. Artists submitted designs in response to calls administered by regional supervisors and advisory committees comprised of representatives from the National Academy of Design, the American Institute of Architects, and the College Art Association. Commissions were adjudicated with reference to precedents set by projects at the Library of Congress, the Jefferson Memorial, and federal courthouse murals in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Notable Projects and Works

The Section produced murals, reliefs, and sculptures installed in post offices and courthouses in towns and cities such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis, New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Hartford, and Albany. Renowned works include murals by Thomas Hart Benton, panels by Ben Shahn, paintings by Grant Wood, frescoes by Doris Lee, reliefs by Paul Manship, terra-cotta sculpture by Lee Lawrie, and post office murals in communities that featured artists such as Eero Saarinen-associated designers and regional talents akin to Reginald Marsh and George Grosz. Buildings that showcase Section commissions include the James Farley Post Office Building, the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon-era courthouses, and numerous Main Street post offices where artists depicted local industry, agriculture, and historical narratives.

Artistic Themes and Styles

Subject matter favored regionalism, American scene painting, historical narrative, indigenous and immigrant labor, agriculture, industry, and transportation—genres practiced by figures like Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Edward Hopper, and Ben Shahn. Stylistically the work ranged from representational muralism to Moderne and Art Deco sculpture associated with Lee Lawrie and architects such as Paul Cret and Cass Gilbert. The Section’s aesthetics intersected with debates promoted by critics and curators from institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery of Art, reflecting tensions between realism, abstraction, and public taste.

Impact and Legacy

The Section’s legacy endures in the conservation challenges and preservation efforts led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and state historic preservation offices. Its commissions influenced later federal art programs in the postwar era and informed debates involving the General Services Administration, the National Endowment for the Arts, and municipal mural programs in cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New York City. The artworks remain studied by historians connected to the New Deal scholarly community, curators from the American Federation of Arts, and preservationists documenting cultural policy across the Roosevelt years and beyond.

Category:New Deal agencies