Does art “work” or have a purpose? How?

Is making art a form of work? Make your argument for why or why not.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated that art in America has never been the sole province of a select group or class of people. Do you agree or disagree?

Define what you think Roosevelt meant by “the democratic spirit.” How do you think art can represent democratic values?

Discover compelling stories of creativity, struggle, and resilience in this new set of resources for K–12 educators featuring works of art that reflect the richness and diversity of the people, places, and cultures of the United States.

Additional Keywords: the 1930s, poverty, Dust Bowl, the New Deal, Works Progress Administration (WPA), Federal Art Project (FAP), the New Deal, Farm Security Administration (FSA), Index of American Design (IAD), labor, murals, Mexican art

Artists: Walker Evans, Family Flats, Seymour Fogel, Clare Leighton, Elizabeth Olds, Drought, George Biddle, Wright Morris, Thomas Hart Benton, Dorothea Lange, Stephen Mopope, Leon Bibel, Stuart Davis, Grant Wood, Berenice Abbot, Bernarda Bryson, Gordon Parks, Margaret Bourke-White, James Allen, Gifford Beal, Henry Tomaszewski, Orville Carroll, Lucienne Bloch, Ben Shahn, Marion Greenwood, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera