AFA Autumn 2018

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 123 Wallace Weir Fahnestock (1877–1962), Vermont Idyll, ca. 1938. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches. Collection of Bennington Museum; Courtesy of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Vermont Federal Art Project (FAP). Close your eyes and imagine Vermont…There’s a good chance the picture in your mind’s eye looks a lot like the agrarian landscape in Vermont Idyll . The painting is typical of the artworks created in Vermont as part of the Federal Art Project (FAP), which promoted local subject matter ranging from distinctive landscapes to regionally specific industries or agricultural practices. The creative output of the New Deal in Vermont helped to solidify the traditional marketing image of Vermont as picturesque “old time” New England. The subjects most often depicted by New Deal artists working in Vermont range from local history to haying, dairy farming, maple sugaring, quarrying, and the budding recreation industry. Working for the federal government and creating art “for the people,” FAP artists helped invent and then spread an idealized image of Vermont, which has been successfully utilized by the state’s tourist industry up to the present day.