"The artist must be a critic of his society” View this email in your browser ([link removed])
In June, the San Francisco Board of Education voted unanimously to destroy thirteen murals at George Washington High School it deems “racist.” Commissioned by the Federal Art Project in 1935, the frescoes depicting the life of the school’s namesake cover the walls and ceiling of the school’s main entrance. Victor Arnautoff painted Washington as son, surveyor, general, and president. He also showed him as a slaveowner and pointing colonists westward over the body of an Indian. Arnautoff’s murals are at odds with American mythology even today. "The artist must be a critic of his society,” he once said. There’s not a cherry tree in sight.

The school board voted to “paint down” artworks that some say dehumanize and traumatize African American and Native American students. Historians, politicians, civil rights leaders, free-speech activists, authors, actors, and artists defend the murals, arguing that history needs to be taught, not whitewashed. The debate has drawn international media attention ([link removed]) . In the face of growing condemnation, the school board last month reversed itself. It decided not to destroy the murals, it plans instead to install panels to permanently hide them at an estimated cost of more than $800,000. Mural advocates are weighing political and legal options.
Stay tuned.

We are especially thankful for your advocacy and support ([link removed]) !
IN THIS ISSUE:
Victor Arnautoff’s “Life of Washington” Murals Explained ([link removed]) by Robert Cherny
Democratizing Beauty ([link removed]) by Gray Brechin
Discovering the New Deal at the NYC Municipal Archives and Library ([link removed]) by Kenneth R. Cobb
On the Road with the American Guide Series ([link removed]) by Fern Nesson
“Pitch in” to Save WPA Sculpture at Golden Gate Park ([link removed]) by Robert Bakewell

BOOK REVIEW:
American Expressionism: Art and Social Change 1920-1950 ([link removed]) , by Bram Dijkstra, New York: Harry M. Abrams. 2003. 272 pp. Reviewed by Gray Brechin.


** Victor Arnautoff’s “Life of Washington” Murals Explained ([link removed])
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** By Robert Cherny
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**
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Working for the WPA, Victor Arnautoff painted thirteen fresco murals at San Francisco’s George Washington High School. Entitled the “Life of Washington,” the murals cover 1,600 square feet of the walls and ceilings of the main hallway. Arnautoff wrote in his memoirs that he wanted to show two things: the life of George Washington and “the spirit of his times.” Read more ([link removed])


** Democratizing Beauty ([link removed])
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** By Gray Brechin
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When a reporter recently asked me what most surprised me about what I’ve learned about the New Deal, I replied “The importance of aesthetics.”Read more ([link removed])


** Discovering the New Deal at the NYC Municipal Archives and Library ([link removed])
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** By Kenneth R. Cobb
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To the eternal benefit of generations of historians and researchers, the Archives hold two extensive collections essential for exploring the New Deal in New York City.
Read more ([link removed])


** On the Road with the American Guide Series ([link removed])
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** By Fern Nesson
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With driving tours and essays on the history and culture of each U.S. state and territory, the WPA's American Travel Guide series gives a fascinating snapshot of American life in the 1930s and the rich diversity of the country at that time. Read more ([link removed])


** “Pitch in” to Save WPA Sculpture at Golden Gate Park ([link removed])
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** By Robert Bakewell
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When volunteers cleared overgrowth from park’s historic horseshoe courts, they recovered two WPA sculptures from the tangle. A campaign to restore one of them is now underway. Read more ([link removed])

BOOK REVIEW: ([link removed])

American Expressionism: Art and Social Change 1920-1950 ([link removed])

By Bram Dijkstra, New York: Harry M. Abrams. 2003. 272 pp. Reviewed by Gray Brechin.

Dijksta’s provocative tome is a reminder not only of an immensely rich but little-known period of American art, but of how much of the New Deal’s legacy has already been destroyed by those offended by what its artists and administrators sought to achieve for the common good. Read more ([link removed])

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A 3-minute video on the Washington High murals
[link removed]
“Creation Story"
By Kate Littleboy
Benefit to Protect the George Washington Murals
Tuesday, September 17
5:30-7:30pm

Dolby Chadwick Gallery
210 Post Street, Suite 205
San Francisco

RSVP (mailto:[email protected]) is required
www.ProtectPublicArt.org
A New Deal for Richmond
A Benefit to Restore the Arnautoff Post Office Mural

Thursday, September 12
5:30-9:30pm

Rockefeller Lodge
2650 Market Ave
San Pablo, California
For info and tickets ([link removed])
"The Coit Tower Murals
Controversy, Neglect, Restoration”
with Dr. Robert Cherny
Thursday, October 3
6:30-7:30pm

Presidio Historical Association
Presidio Interfaith Chapel
The Presidio, San Francisco

The Presidio Association ([link removed])
Party to Preserve The George Washington High School Murals
Thursday, October 17
5:30-8:30pm

Specs Bar
12 Alder Lane
Across from City Lights Books
San Francisco
"We need enthusiasm, imagination and the ability to face facts, even unpleasant ones, bravely. We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer. We need the courage of the young. Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you. May every one of us be granted the courage, the faith and the vision to give the best that is in us to that remaking!”

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Commencement Address
May 22, 1932
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Editor: Susan Ives
Production: Lisa Thompson & Sheera Bleckman

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