In 1994, the Department of the Interior (DOI) Museum Property Program initiated a National Survey of Federally Associated Collections Housed in Non-Federal Institutions. As part of this survey, the Fine Arts Program of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) started an inventory of artwork from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in non-federal repositories associated with GSA’s Fine Arts Collection. The first results were published in 1996. WPA Artwork in Non-Federal Repositories, Edition II continues this cataloging and accounting with the museum community. The inventory, arranged by State with a cross-reference index by artist, serves as a valuable source of information for federal and State agencies with New Deal artwork, the museum community, scholars, students, and the general public.

During the Depression era, the New Deal art projects of Franklin Roosevelt’s Administration (1933 - 1943) offered work relief to artists by commissioning paintings and sculpture for the embellishment of newly constructed federal buildings, post offices, and courthouses. In addition, the WPA also created thousands of portable works of art that were loaned or allocated (indicating a restricted transfer of title) to museums and other public agencies. The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 transferred all functions of the Federal Works Agency, including WPA artwork, to GSA.

As we approach the 75^th Anniversary of the New Deal, we celebrate this unique period of federal patronage of the arts. GSA does not intend to retrieve or reclaim WPA artwork housed in non-federal repositories. Rather, we hope to continue to work with the museum community to develop cooperative agreements for the future care of and responsibility for these important works of art.