The Federal Art Project in Utah : Out of Oblivion or More of the Same?
Utah Historical Quarterly
Summer 1990
58
1990
277-95
The Federal Art Project, a division of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, contributed to a growing artistic awareness in Utah. At times encountering public opposition, the activities of the FAP legitimized the need for an advocate and institution dedicated to presenting alternative artistic viewpoints. It established an art gallery in Salt Lake City which operated from 1938 to 1943. This Art Center offered free art instruction and exhibited modern art of local artists and of national and world-renowned artists. There were even traveling exhibitions to branch art centers in outlying Utah communities. Alice Merrill Horne was an outspoken critic of the FAP, contending that its non-traditional art was barbaric, decadent, and a threat to the moral values of the community.