Beyond Murals: The Expanding Scope of the CWA
From the beginning, the public conversation around the CWA art program focused almost entirely on murals. They were large, visible, and symbolic—perfect for a nation trying to rebuild its identity. But murals were only one part of the story. Behind the scenes, the program was quietly expanding to include printmakers, lithographers, etchers, draftsmen, and artists working in black‑and‑white mediums.
This expansion was not accidental. It reflected a broader vision: that American art was not defined by a single medium, but by the full range of creative work happening across the country.
Printmakers Enter the Picture
Confusion about the role of printmakers led Charles Z. Offin of the Etchers Guild to seek clarification from Juliana Force, the regional chairman for New York. Her response was unequivocal: the CWA program did include etchers, lithographers, and artists working in black‑and‑white.
Force explained that Washington had authorized a “definite program” for pictorial etchings of the American scene. The subject matter was broad, the opportunities significant, and the need for skilled printmakers clear. She urged unemployed artists to register through the Civil Works Administration bureaus so their names could be forwarded to her office.
This moment marked a turning point. It signaled that the CWA was not merely a mural program—it was a national investment in the full spectrum of American artistic practice.
Women Artists Speak with One Voice
As controversies swirled around committee appointments and artistic factions, the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors found itself misrepresented in the press. Some newspapers suggested the organization opposed the CWA committee structure.
Alexandrina Robertson Harris, the association’s president, responded with a clear and forceful statement. The organization, she said, supported the program wholeheartedly. It welcomed modernists, conservatives, and everyone in between. What mattered was not factional control, but unified action in support of American artists.
Her message was simple: the CWA art program was too important to be derailed by petty disputes. The nation’s artists needed relief, opportunity, and purpose—and the association stood ready to help.
A Regional Flashpoint: The Dormont Mural Controversy
Even as the program expanded, regional tensions surfaced in unexpected ways. In the Pittsburgh suburb of Dormont, artist Louise Pershing completed a PWAP mural for the local school—an allegory contrasting the promise of education with the darker forces of crime, poverty, and social disorder. The imagery was bold, direct, and morally charged.
Parents were outraged. They declared the mural “unfit for children,” and the school board quietly removed it to the basement while the dispute unfolded. Pershing, who had spent weeks painting the work, refused to retreat. She argued that the mural’s rejection proved its power—that art meant to challenge would never please everyone.
The Dormont controversy became a vivid example of how the New Deal’s cultural ambitions could collide with local sensibilities. It revealed the delicate balance between federal vision and community expectations, and it showed how deeply Americans cared about the art appearing in their public spaces.
A Broader Vision of American Art
Together, these developments revealed a deeper truth about the CWA art program. It was not just a jobs program, nor was it limited to murals or monumental painting. It was an effort to recognize the diversity of American art and to give artists across mediums a chance to contribute to the nation’s recovery.
Printmakers, women artists, sculptors, draftsmen, and black‑and‑white specialists all found a place within the program’s expanding scope. Their work—often quieter and more intimate than the murals—became an essential part of the cultural record of the era.