Smartly dressed young lad reminds Americans of the importance of eye exams for children. A woman shows him a card that might be part of the test. The text of the poster clever mimics an eye chart. The poster notes that it was sponsored by the Town of Hempstead (W.H. Runcie, M.D., health officer) under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project.
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration. It was created as a relief measure to employ artists and artisans to create murals, easel paintings, sculpture, graphic art, posters, photographs, Index of American Design documentation, museum and theatre scenic design, and arts and crafts. The Federal Art Project operated community art centers throughout the country where craft workers and artists worked, exhibited, and educated others. The project created more than 200,000 separate works, some of them remaining among the most significant pieces of public art in the country.
Collections of posters at Library of Congress
The Federal Art Project's primary goals were to employ out-of-work artists and to provide art for nonfederal municipal buildings and public spaces. Artists were paid $23.60 a week; tax-supported institutions such as schools, hospitals, and public buildings paid only for materials. The work was divided into art production, art instruction, and art research. The primary output of the art-research group was the Index of American Design, a mammoth and comprehensive study of American material culture.
As many as 10,000 artists were commissioned to produce work for the WPA Federal Art Project, the largest of the New Deal art projects. ~ Wikipedia
Title: John is not really dull - he may only need his eyes examined
Date Created/Published: [New York] : W.P.A. Fed. Art Project, 1937
Creator: Artist unknown
Medium: 1 print on board (poster) : silkscreen, color.
Library of Congress: LC-USZC2-5332
Pictograph Source: By Federal Art Project - Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution