Picturing the Thirties

Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and natural disasters, big government projects dominated American economics and politics in the 1930s. One programme, the Public Works of Art Project, paid artists to embellish public buildings. In conjunction with an exhibition that celebrates the programme, 1934: A New Deal for Artists, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has created this educational web site. Drawing on the museum's collection of artworks, the web site allows online visitors to explore the 1930s through paintings, artists' memorabilia, historical documents, newsreels, period photographs, music and video in a virtual movie theatre.

Visitors enter the site through...