Preservationists Rally to Protect Landmark Building Featuring Priceless New Deal Murals

3 hours ago7 min read1 comments

A landmark effort is mobilizing art and preservation groups to protect the Wilbur J. Cohen Building in Washington, D.C. , a historic structure that safeguards an invaluable collection of New Deal-era murals painted by renowned artists Seymour Fogel, Philip Guston, and Ben Shahn.The campaign transcends architectural conservation, aiming to preserve a monumental chapter of American history. The building's interior functions as a gallery of national memory, its walls adorned with the vision of Franklin D.Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, which employed the nation's artists to bolster public morale during the Great Depression. These murals are foundational works: Guston’s early social realist pieces hint at the artistic direction he later abandoned, while Ben Shahn’s potent, graphic style delivers enduring social critique.Advocates contend that demolishing the site would be an act of cultural vandalism, irrevocably severing a tangible link to an era that championed public art as a civic necessity. The conflict pits redevelopment interests against the imperative to safeguard heritage, framing the building as a national monument to a transformative period in American art and governance. The outcome of this struggle will determine whether this living archive of 20th-century art is preserved for future generations or lost forever.

#featured

#historic preservation

#New Deal art

#murals

#Seymour Fogel

#Philip Guston

#Ben Shahn

#Washington D.C.

#Wilbur J. Cohen Building

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