The financial and economic crisis of the 1930s drew the attention of Americans back to the lives and struggles of commonfolk– the working class. The strong themes including the celebration of the farmer and the factory worker, or the celebration of the rural working class seen in much New Deal artwork reflects this sentiment (7).
The glorification of the working class as seen in “Employment in Public Works.”
Reoccurring themes include “the strength and dignity of common men and women, even as they faced difficult circumstances” as well as “agriculture, logging and western history, featuring images of both Euro-American settlers and Native peoples (4). Often, artists looked to the outside world to depict every day routines or to find models (8).