Opening February 22 is Forgotten Stories: Northwest Public Art of the 1930s at the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Washington. The exhibition will examine artwork that was created during a period of intense economic downturn, when the federal government initiated the Works Progress Administration to help put people back to work. Some of the people employed by the program were artists, many of whom created public art all around the country. 
Jacob Elshin (1892-1976), Miners at Work, 1937-38, oil on canvas, 60 x 144”. Courtesy of United States Postal Service. © 2019 USPS.
The show will focus on artists of the Northwest, where hundreds of artists were employed and thousands of works of art were created. Their stories have not previously been told, and the museum is hoping to introduce visitors to this important period of creation in American history. 
Elizabeth Colborne (1885-1948), Mossy Wood, Washington, 1934, color lithograph, 13½ x 9”. Seattle Public Library Special Collections.
Works in the show include Elizabeth Colborne’s Mossy Wood, Washington color lithograph and Jacob Elshin’s 12-foot oil painting Miners at Work, which depicts nine figures doing back-breaking work alongside a horse-pulled minecart.
The exhibition is part of TAM’s historical Northwest Perspective series and will include a major publication. For more information about the exhibition, visit www.tacomaartmuseum.org. —
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