Preservationists Fight to Save Historic New Deal Murals Building.

7 hours ago7 min read4 comments

The fight to save the Wilbur J. Cohen building in Washington, D.C. is about so much more than bricks and mortar; it's a desperate scramble to preserve a tangible piece of American soul, a moment in time when art was considered essential public medicine.Within its unassuming federal walls lies a fragile, irreplaceable gallery of New Deal-era murals by masters like Seymour Fogel, Philip Guston, and Ben Shahn, artists who were deployed not just to decorate but to document and uplift a nation gripped by the Great Depression. This was the ethos of Franklin D.Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, a radical idea that artists were workers, and their labor—the creation of beauty and narrative in post offices, schools, and government buildings—was as vital to national recovery as building bridges or planting trees. The potential loss of this specific building sends a chilling message about our cultural priorities, forcing a uncomfortable comparison between an era that funded art for the people and our current moment where such public projects are often first on the budgetary chopping block.The murals themselves are not merely pretty pictures; they are complex historical documents. Ben Shahn, for instance, was a fierce social realist whose work often championed the common laborer, while Philip Guston's piece here predates his famous, cartoonish critiques of American violence, offering a glimpse into his earlier, more figurative public art phase.To lose these works is to sever a direct line to the artistic and political debates of the 1930s and 40s, a conversation about the role of government, the value of the artist, and the very identity of America. Preservationists argue that the cost of saving the building and meticulously restoring these site-specific artworks pales in comparison to the permanent cultural amnesia their destruction would cause.The battle is emblematic of a wider, ongoing conflict playing out in cities across the country, where mid-century modern and even older historic structures are routinely sacrificed for new development, often with their artistic interiors forgotten until the wrecking ball is already swinging. It raises profound questions about stewardship: what do we, as a society, owe to the artistic patrimony that was created with public funds for the public good? The outcome of this particular fight in the shadow of the nation's capital will serve as a stark indicator of whether we view our New Deal legacy as a foundational chapter to be protected or a inconvenient relic to be cleared away, a decision that will resonate far beyond the fate of one building's walls.

#featured

#historic preservation

#New Deal art

#murals

#Seymour Fogel

#Philip Guston

#Ben Shahn

#Washington D.C.

#Wilbur J. Cohen Building

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