James Michael Newell

James Michael Newell (February 21, 1900 – December 1985) was a gold medaled W.P.A. artist is best known for his Fresco murals. He was born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania into a large Irish family. His birth name was James Erbin Newell but he changed it when becoming an artist. He had one child with his first wife, Emma Greaves. His daughter Patricia Ann Newell was born 1927.

James Newell was given a scholarship from a Colonel Mills to study in Paris, France. Newell studied painting at Academie Julian, and then fresco at Beaux Arts. While in Paris Newell met an art student, Mardy Allen, who later became his second wife. The two researched Renaissance frescoes in Italy. In 1930 Newell assisted La Montagne St. Hubert on frescoes in the American dormitory at La Cite universitaine in Paris. The Depression which followed the stock market crash of 1929 lead the government to take a role never before played…that of being a patron of the arts. During the ten year period between 1933 and 1943, a variety of federal programs were responsible for funding the creation of thousands of sculptures, paintings, drawings, and murals. Much of the work was to be displayed in New Deal-created public buildings, and many survive to this day and stand as an important reminder of a critical era in American history. In the words of President Roosevelt, New Deal art would be art that was:...native, human, eager and alive... that was painted for the people of this country by their own kind in their own country, and painted about things they know and look at often and have touched and loved.

One of those New Deal artists was James Michael Newell. He was commissioned by Potomac Electric Power Company to paint murals in lobbies of Washington D.C. offices. During the late 1930s, Newell worked under P.W.A.P. (Public Works of Art Project) and the Federal arts project (one of the divisions of the W.P.A. created under Federal Project One) painting eight murals titled "The History of Western Civilization". See http://newdeal.feri.org/echs/cohen.htm for more information. Newell's aditional works include "Alaska" and "Insular Possessions" done in the year 1939. In 1940 Newell was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts of Federal Works Agency to paint "The Underground Railroad". This mural was placed in the Dolgeville, NY post office. In the same year Newell painted an oil on canvas named "The Death of Pere Marquette." This mural was placed in the U.S. Post Office in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Often compared to Diego Rivera’s murals, Newell depicted the social scene of his nation. His works have been exhibited and placed in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, NYC), the Smithsonian, the White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art(NYC) and other major institutions. A film based on his work in frescos is in use by the Metropolitan Museum, other museums and universities throughout the country. In addition, his murals, selected by President and Mrs. Roosevelt have been the focus in films highlighting the art of the W.P.A.

Media: [http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/wpa/wpa_info.html]