Check this book out at the Concord Public Library. Art not your thing? Don’t worry, the library has a plethora of books to suit your interests. For more information about the library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net.
When Art Worked:
The New Deal, Art and Democracy
Roger G. Kennedy
2009, 368 pages
Nonfiction
This illustrated documentary is more a book to be looked at than read, but the text is a wonderful history of the programs of the New Deal that supported the arts and employed artists and workers of all sorts. More than 400 images are presented documenting some of the artists and work done during this period including Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Red Rocks Amphitheater and Timberline Lodge. Government agencies supporting this work that most people will recognize included the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Art Project, the Public Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
This is a fascinating illustrated history of how the arts were utilized during the Depression to accomplish much. Looking at this book, you will come to realize how much of this work is still enjoyed and utilized by the public today. There are two perfect examples here in a Concord. Construction of the current Concord Public Library building, which opened on Jan. 29, 1940, was funded by the Public Works Administration. The two floral murals that were recently cleaned and re-hung in the library were painted by Penacook resident Margaret Masson in 1936 and funded by the Works Progress Administration. I’m sure there are many other examples throughout New Hampshire.
