WPA Art

Scarrozzo, Joseph (1916-?) Joseph Scarrozzo studied art under Sanford Low at the Art League of New Britain, Connecticut. Low and Walter Korder suggested that Scarrozzo join the WPA Federal Arts Project. He completed four watercolor works and one mural entitled, Early Life of Nathan Hale, which is installed at the Nathan Hale Junior High School in New Britain. Later he worked f...

Daugherty, James Henry (1887-1974) James Henry Daugherty and John Steuart Curry were two popular artists when they worked for the Connecticut WPA Federal Arts Project. Daugherty is considered more of a Connecticut “son” because he spent so much of his life in Westport and Weston. Much has been written about Daugherty’s career which included many styles: abstraction, early mo...

Heurlin, Magnus Colcord (1895-1985) On July 5, 1895, Magnus Colcord “Rusty” Heurlin was born in Sweden, where his parents were vacationing. The family returned from Sweden in 1896, and he was raised in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He attended art school at the Fenway School of Illustration in Boston. He visited Alaska for the first time in 1916. During World War I Heurlin joine...

Avison, George (1885-1970) George Avison was born in Norwalk, Connecticut on May 6, 1885. He attended public schools and wrote adventure stories and drew illustrations. At the requests of his teachers, he drew murals on blackboards with colored chalk. After school he sat at trolley stops and sketched passengers onboard before the trolleys left. After graduating Avison attend...

Schork, Joseph C. (1902-1965) Joseph Carl Schork was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. At the age of 15 he became an errand boy at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended the Winchester Trade School and became a machinist. He also attended classes at the New Haven Evening High School. Schork received three years of private instruc...

Schlichting, Heinrich Carl (1885-1944) Heinrich Carl Schlichting was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 21, 1885. After graduating from Brown's Business School in Brooklyn, he followed his love for painting, studying in a New York art school. About 1908 the Schlichting family moved to Darien. During World War I he served overseas with the 56th Coast Artillery. He was promi...

Brewster, George T. (1862-1943) George Thomas Brewster was a sculptor known for his portraits and war memorials. He was born in Kingston, MA on February 24, 1862 to Altheus Brewster and Mary S. Cushman. He could trace his lineage back to William Brewster, leader of the Mayflower expedition. We know nothing about his childhood or early education. From 1877-1881, he attended t...

Yurchenco, Basil (?)Basil Yurchenco was an Argentine painter who was at Yale when he met Henrietta Weiss of New Haven. They married in 1936. Yurchenco worked for the Public Works of Art Project and then completed one mural with Michele Russo for the WPA Federal Arts Project. In 1941 he took his wife to Mexico, and in 1955 the two were divorced. The dates of Yurchenco’s birth an...

Soderberg, Yngve E. (1896-1972) Yngve Soderberg was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1896. He may have studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. When he came east he studied at the Art Students’ League in New York City on a one year scholarship. He also traveled in Europe to study art for one year. He eventually settled in Mystic, Connecticut and remained there for the rest of his ...

Rummler, Alexander J. (1867-1959)Alexander Rummler was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1867. He received his high school education at Iowa private schools. He studied in Detroit, Michigan, and at the Art Students League in New York City. In 1892 he married. In 1906 he studied at the Academie Julian in Paris with Jean Paul Laurens. Rummler was a member of the Salmagundi Club and the Si...