Jundt Art Museum Art U.S.A.: One Hundred American Works on Paper, 1925–1950, from the Permanent Collection of the Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University

Gustave Baumann

Recently, I had the chance to visit a new exhibit at the Jundt Art Museum. The show featured about 100 works, created by American artists employed by government art programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Federal Art Project (FAP). The exhibit also featured work from well-known artists including Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood.

The main themes of the show included the Great Depression, World War II, the 1939 New York World fair, and artwork created from the WPA and FAP. Overall, it was interesting to see so many prints from this period that were created under such government-sponsored art programs. My knowledge of artists from the art programs from this period was limited, except for the likes of Benton and Grant Wood for example. What a great way to support yourself as an artist at the time, especially if you were unemployed because of the depression. Also, there were little to no limitations or restrictions placed upon the artists in terms of the type of artwork one could create. It was quite an unprecedented time in American Art history. Also a number of artists included in the show were regionally-based with close ties to the Pacific Northwest. For example, there was even a mural design image for a post-office in Boise, Idaho which was completed as part of a competition held at that time. The show also included supporting items and artifacts such as magazines and books about the printmaking processes, such as silkscreen etc.

Fun fact: In 1938, there was a branch of the FAP located in Spokane and was housed in a building on Monroe street called the Spokane Art Center. It offered art classes, lectures, community meeting spaces, and notably hosted an exhibit of original Van Gogh paintings from the Prado Museum.

Some of the highlights for me were artworks created by: Grant Wood, Emil Ganso, Roi Partridge, Gustave Baumann, John Steuart Curry, and Melville T. Wire, among others.

Overall, I’d recommend the show if you like printmaking, 20th century American art history, and are interested in the various government sponsored art programs who employed artists and thereby supported art and culture in America during the depression era.

Note: images in this blog may or may not have appeared in this exhibit.

#JundtArtMuseum #Jundt #GonzagaUniversity #AmericanArt #ThomasHartBenton #GrantWood #WorksProgressAdministration #WPA #FederalArtProject #FAP

Copyright 2025 Tim Bovey.

Roi Partridge

John Steuart Curry