Section of Painting & Sculpture

A Treasury Department Art Program

1934-1943

Number of artworks produced: 193 competitions conducted; Federal buildings in 101 cities were decorated with murals and sculptures

Goal: To organize regional and national competitions for artworks based on the quality of the design or model not on the employment needs of the artist.

After the Public Works of Art Program (PWAP) was ended, the Treasury Department sponsored two other projects. The first of these was the Section of Painting and Sculpture (1934-1943) called "The Section," and the other was the Treasury Relief Art Program (1935-1939) which is discussed separately.

The Section was added to the Treastury Department's Procurement Division under the Public Buildings Branch, which provided funding for the artworks. Former PWAP director Edward Bruce was the head of the Section.

Artists employed by the Section were awarded commissions based on their winning a regional or national competition. Unlike other Federal art programs, eligibility was not based on unemployment, but initial approval of an artist's design for a specific project, and then through a series of reviews as it progressed through the stages of completion.

Like PWAP, the art produced under the Section stressed the American scene. The majority of the artwork produced was representational not abstract.

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