Work Project Administration

WPA History

In 1935, the Work Project Administration was formed through an executive order from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The project was designed to create jobs during the Great Depression. Harry L. Hopkins was chosen to head up the program. He established two divisions of the WPA. The building program (which constructed public buildings, bridges and improved roadways) and the art program which included the Federal Art Project, the Federal Writers’ Project, and the Federal Theatre Project. These programs were designed to create work in all 48 states. In their time, these programs were known by many names. Today, people commonly use the umbrella term for all these branches—WPA—to describe works of visual art created under the Federal Art Project. Some of these WPA works can still be see in Boonville, Paoli and Jasper, Indiana and in post offices, hospitals, and airports throughout the country.