The Federal Art Project (FAP) and WPA

Spawned from the WPA initiative, the Federal Art Project (FAP) was the specialized, visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943 and was reported to have created more than 200,000 separate works. FAP artists created posters, murals, sculptures, and paintings. Some works still stand among the most-significant pieces of public art in the country.

The FAP's primary goals were to employ out-of-work artists and to provide art for non-federal government buildings: schools, hospitals, libraries, etc. The work was divided into art production, art instruction, and art research. The program made no distinction between representational and abstract art, thus the program yielded a wide variety of visual-result products.