Background on the Mural and the WPA
The Milford Arts Council, a 501(c)(3), located in New Haven County, Connecticut, is raising funds to restore a historical WPA (Works Progress Administration) mural. A professional art conservator is needed to save the mural from further deterioration and restore it to its original appearance. The mural will then be framed and installed in the Milford Public Library.
Some background information:
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Commissioned in 1937, 'We Shall Pass This Way But Once', designed by Louis Agostini & painted by Frank Rutkoski was installed on April 2, 1940 on a wall at the entrance of Milford's Central Grammar School.
- A 7’8” x 5’ portion of the mural (oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard) was saved before the school was demolished in 1986. The fragment depicts male students engaged in a variety of activities with two buildings in the background; Plymouth Church (demolished in the 1950s) and what appears to be the Sanford-Bristol House (c. 1789 house still in existence).
- For the past decade the mural was stored behind a filing cabinet in a Milford government building, hidden from public view and slowly deteriorating. The mural has recently been carefully moved to a safe and secure space, where it is laid flat.
- The mural artists were employed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration), WPA (Works Progress Administration), which was the first major attempt at government patronage of the visual arts in the United States and the most extensive and influential of the visual arts projects conceived during the Depression of the 1930s by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- The WPA employed struggling out-of-work artists during the Great Depression. Artists competed to create murals in public properties such as post offices, schools, museums, hospitals, housing projects & colleges. A few famous WPA artists include Grant Wood, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock.
- In Connecticut, it is estimated that 160 artists created over 5,000 pieces of WPA art.
According to the State of Connecticut's WPA Art Inventory list,
eight artworks were created in/for Milford, however only three can be located,
including this mural.
What We Need & What You Get
- We need to raise funds to hire a professional art conservator to restore the mural and to frame it so it can be hung at the Milford Public Library for the public to enjoy once again. We have bids from two professional art conservators with experience conserving WPA murals. If we do not raise the funds through this campaign, our committee will continue to fundraise.
- This art belongs to US- the PEOPLE. Let's conserve this Milford treasure for the public to enjoy once again! Any contribution helps, whether you can give $20, $50, or higher. We are offering some "perks" to donors who can give $100 to $1,000.
The Impact
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This historic artwork will be saved! By restoring the mural, Milford will join many towns in the U.S.
that have already restored their WPA murals, which are regarded as culturally
significant works of art.
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Inspire other towns to save their WPA art.
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It will hang in the Milford Public Library, where the public can once again admire it.
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Lectures, tours, and other educational programs can be
planned to teach students and community members about WPA art.
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Preserves the visual memory of Milford. Ex: The church in
the mural no longer exists.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Share a link to our Indiegogo page.
- Like our Facebook page.
- Write to a local Milford newspaper and be an advocate for saving the mural.