Author: CT State Library

Flynn, Lawrence (1900-1971?)Lawrence Flynn was born in 1900 in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended the city’s public schools and studied art at the Art Students’ League in New York and anatomy under Bridgeman. He worked in art studios in New York and New Haven. From 1936 to 1939 he completed several color plates for the WPA for the Index of American Design. Flynn died in 1971. ...

Elliott, Martha (?)Little is known about Martha Elliott. At the time she worked for the WPA she was living in New Haven, Connecticut. A newsletter by the WPA for the Federal Arts Project stated that she was “formerly a designer for the Hooked Project” before being “transferred to the Index of American Design.” The newsletter reported that she was assisting “in the office work f...

Earle, George F. (1913-2010) George Frederic Earle was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He began oil painting at the age of 8. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University, and while at Syracuse he organized the institution’s first ski team. After graduating from Syracuse Earle “travelled alone by burro through the tropic...

Dunkle, Murna (1890-1974)Little is known about this artist except that she worked for the WPA in 1940-1941and lived in Lime Rock, Connecticut. Dunkle worked on a medium called “transurface” and completed seventeen works in it. Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; Social Security Death IndexWorks of Art Listed in CT Archives' database from Murna Dunkle:Old Barns- New Roofs:transurfa...

Dolmith, Rex (1896-?)Rex Dolmith was born January 1, 1896, in East Canton, Ohio. He studied at the Art School of Chicago. He specialized in portraits, architectural drawings, and industrial design. Under the WPA Federal Arts Project, he created nine watercolors for the Index of American Design and one oil still life that was allocated to the Undercliff Sanatorium. Dolmith’s dat...

Doerfler, Isabella Ruth (1883-1954)Isabella Ruth Doerfler was born 1883 in Meriden, Connecticut. She began painting at the age of ten while attending Meriden public schools. She graduated from the Yale School of Art. She was a teacher, children’s book illustrator, designer for publishing houses, and decorator of antiques. Doerfler was a member of the Arts and Crafts Association...

DiGennero, Edward (?)The only evidence that this artist worked on the FAP comes from The Index of American Design by Erwin O. Christensen. On page 201, Edward DiGennero is listed as working on the “Connecticut Project.” Nothing else is known about this artist.Source: Erwin O. Christensen, The Index of American Design (National Gallery of Art, 1950)Works of Art Listed in CT Arch...

Cavaliere, Thomas (?)Thomas Cavaliere created three easel works and one mural for the WPA Federal Arts Project. His mural American History was painted in fresco at the Ivy Street School in New Haven. His other works were allocated to the Scotland, Connecticut Board of Education and the Laurel Heights Sanatorium. His dates of birth and death are unknown. Sources: WPA Artist’s Wo...

Curry, John Steuart (1897-1946) John Steuart Curry and James Henry Daugherty were two artists in the Connecticut Federal Arts Project who were nationally and internationally celebrated. Curry was one of the three top regionalist artists in the country, Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton being the two others. He was born on November 14, 1897, near Dunavant, Kansas. He took his...