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American Art Works die stamping

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@ Ohio History Connection

Ohio Federal Writers' Project

Description

Dated ca. 1935-1939, this photograph shows a worker using a die stamping machine at the American Art Works in Cocshocton, Ohio. This was most likely a part of the Federal Art Project, a program in the Works Progress Administration, that employed more than 5,000 artists who created 225,000 works of art for the American people. Many famous artists got their start working on the WPA, including Will Barnet, Adolph Gottlieb, Archibald Motley, David Park, and Jackson Pollock. A note on the photograph's reverse reads "Coshocton, O. Chas Wolf working a die stamping machine at American Art Works." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The...
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Ohio History Connection

Record Harvested From

Ohio Digital Network