Regionalism
In the
early 1930s, American artists who were not part of the dominant New
York-based art world began to make works that focused on themes
unique to specific regions of the United States, particularly the
Midwest.
They argued for a uniquely American art that would celebrate the
country's local heroes and regional subjects.
Regionalist art depicted rural and small-town America, especially
the crises and concerns generated by the Great Depression.
The movement received a boost in 1933 via the government's creation
of the Public Works of Art Project, which employed nearly four
thousand artists to produce murals and other art for public
buildings. A similar federal program, the Federal Arts Project,
operated under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to
1939.
Regionalism's popularity diminished in the 1940s as World War II
brought influences from abroad to the United States.
Regionalism is sometimes referred to under the broader term
'American Scene Painting'.
Representative
painters:
Benton,
Burchfield, Curry, Hogue, Wood