Publications

IFAR Journal, Vol 8, No 2, 2005/2006: Emergency Art Recovery and Conservation in New Orleans (PDF)

Art for the People: The Rediscovery and Preservation of Progressive- and WPA-Era Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904-1943.

By Heather Becker

Between 1903 and 1943, political, economic, and social forces united to bring art to the people, through public programs funded by the government. Influenced often by the work of the great Mexican muralists—Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—and painted by men and women from all walks of life, the 438 rediscovered Chicago Public School murals recall a forgotten period of vast social change, a time when ideals were debated in the public domain. Through depictions that cover a broad prospect of American life and social history—from agricultural and industrial settings, to themes of musical genius, founding fathers, explorers, settlers and indigenous cultures—the murals continue to pose significant social questions, and challenge our vision.

Art for the People is the inspiring story of the rediscovery, careful restoration, and living history of these pieces of social wall art. A complete reference guide, it documents the history of mural making in the US, includes essays by 25 artists and historians like Studs Terkel, Francis V. O’Connor, and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, and details each of the 438 murals spread across 68 locations. The glorious return of a lost chapter in Chicago’s annals and a detailed directory all in one, Art for the People is an important resource for those with an interest in American art and history.

With beautiful images of the restoration project and the murals themselves, this book bears witness to the undeniable ability of art to testify—as a powerful record of a people, place and time. Art for the People is a dramatic demonstration of the power of human hands working together not just to create art, but also to save it.

ISBN: 0-8118-3579-0 Paperback: $29.95 US
ISBN: 0-8118-3640-1 Hardcover: $45.00 US
9 x 11 inches, 256 pages, 250 color photographs

ORDER AT: AMAZON.COM or call (800) 722-6657
For more information contact Heather Becker.

Press on Art for the People:

"Walls Shed Coats of Paint to Reveal Trove of 437 Murals" – The Seattle Times, February 2, 2003

"Art Rediscovered" – Today’s Chicago Woman, February, 2003

"The Chicago Mural Preservation Project" – Network Chicago, February, 2003

"Chicago School Murals and Other Gift Ideas" – Chicago Sun-Times

"Lost Art Collection Unveiled at Chicago Public Schools" – Chicago Public Schools – CPS – Chicago

"To Inspire and Instruct: Art From The Collection of the Chicago Public Schools" – Chicago Public Schools – (PDF)

"Lost Art Collection Unveiled at Chicago Public Schools" – Inside: Serving Chicago’s North Side Neighborhoods