The thirty paintings in our exhibition reflect the American Scene Movement when artists turned away from European art to look for an American story. American Scene artists used the descriptive language of realism so their art could be understood by all. However, a diversity of styles operated within American Scene realism to allow artists the flexibility to accommodate the character of America’s diverse environments and experiences. The American Scene artists belonged to different groups reflecting their attitudes and interests. The Regionalists focused on the land, crops, industry, people, and local history. The Social Realists commented on things to be corrected both politically and socially. The Modernists painted both Regionalist and Social Realist topics but incorporated some elements of older styles such as Precisionism, Surrealism, and folk art in what they painted. Because the American Scene Movement was supported by government employment programs for the arts from 1933 until 1943, it dominated the art scene. The government’s public art projects included post offices, airports, schools, and hospitals, as well as programs to teach art across the country. These programs broke the narrow boundaries of art and created a national reservoir of art appreciation. Art, once deemed a luxury for the few, became art for all in the 1930s. Government support of the American Scene Movement gave artists a national function to support and reshape an American identity. The different styles within American Scene art reflect the democratic spirit which allows diverse ideas to be utilized, freely appropriated, and fused into something new.

The exhibition is timed to complement Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.