Winter

Dacre F. Boulton, Winter, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.134
Copied Dacre F. Boulton, Winter, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, 34 1828 38 in. (86.772.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.134

Artwork Details

Title
Winter
Date
ca. 1933-1934
Dimensions
34 1828 38 in. (86.772.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure male
  • Cityscape — street
  • Cityscape — season — winter
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Missouri
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — shed
Object Number
1964.1.134

Artwork Description

Dacre Boulton painted Winter while working for Region 7 of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a program sponsored by the New Deal that paid artists for their work. Under the PWAP, the United States was divided into sixteen regions, and Region 7 included Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. In this image, Boulton depicted his surrounding urban landscape. The dark, muted colors of the buildings and barren trees, and the snow-covered streets, reveal a dreary winter day, but also hint at the hardships endured all over the country during the Great Depression, a dark period in America's history.