“...shall our walls remain blank, and blank the minds of our people to art, and blank of hope the lives of our artist?”  - Audrey McMahon, College Art Association Director 1933

Setting the Stage

In 1928 the “Great Humanitarian” Herbert Hoover won the presidential election with 58% of the vote, carried largely by the prosperity of the 1920s. Political ads of that year cited growth in wages and dividends and declared that a “Vote for Hoover” was the right thing to do. In early 1929 Hoover declared his support for the arts – namely architecture – through a speech to the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

“The founders of the republic … gave us a great tradition in architecture. In after years we have held to it in some periods and in others we have fallen sadly away … I do hope to live to see the day when we shall remove from Washington the evidence of those falls from high standards which would have been deplored by the founders …” - Herbert Hoover 1929

But greater, more immediate political concerns struck the presidency within months and overshadowed conversations about art and architecture, most notably the stock market crash in September. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) won the election with his promise of a “New Deal.” In contrast to Hoover’s strategy of localized financial relief efforts, FDR embarked on a campaign of massive federal spending across the country – inspired by experimental projects he pioneered during his tenure as governor of New York.

The Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA) funded the arts in New York through the College Art Association (CAA), the purpose of which was to decorate public spaces and educate children. Some 100 artists received a weekly stipend to achieve these aims. 

Ask yourself, what message do you see in Martha Levy’s mural? What was the purpose of putting the mural in Granville High School?