Bohemians on the Breadline

The extraordinary and unexamined history of a radical group of women artists funded by Roosevelt’s New Deal, who challenged racism and inequality and created enduring works of public art.

Like millions of Americans in the Great Depression, artists Alice Neel, Augusta Savage, Georgette Seabrooke, Lenore Thomas Straus, Elizabeth Olds, and Pablita Velarde embraced employment through the New Deal. The Federal Arts Project was one of the most unique social experiments in U.S. history: mass public funding of art meant for the public. Murals were painted, sculptures cast, and art classes were taught, as these talented artists gave back to the communities they lived in. They were also making radical art that challenged racism, inequality, and capitalism—despite pressure by bureaucrats to dictate the art produced. When the New Deal programs were dissolved at the end of the decade, much of that art was destroyed or forgotten. The surviving works were absorbed into the landscape of our everyday lives. Because it’s always there, it’s rarely seen. Situated in housing projects, playgrounds, and municipal buildings, this art is seldom understood as more than a cultural artifact. But these are labors of love by women artists who put themselves at risk during tumultuous times.

In vivid, eloquent prose backed up by archival research, Lauren Arrington brings to life the intimate stories of these women—of tortured love affairs and fractured families, but also courageous activism and community mentorship, and above all their extraordinary art.