Connecticut WPA Art

Gesner, Frank (1875-1955)Frank Gesner was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1877, but he spent most of his life in Wethersfield. He worked at the Maxim Silencer Co., retiring in 1945. He was also employed by the Hartford Courant in the rotogravure section, and he contributed poetry. According to Gesner’s obituary, he “had painted the murals in the central hall of the [Hartford]...

Nothing is known about Austin Ayers except that he painted three oil easels for the WPA in 1941. Source:  WPA Artist’s Work Card.Works of Art Listed in CT Archives' database from Austin Ayers:Children's Concert-Woolsey Hall:oilSpring 2:30:oilOld House- Woodbridge:oilAyers, Austin

Burgoyne, Benjamin (?)According to the Connecticut Federal Arts Project’s newsletter for July 1939, Benjamin Burgoyne was a descendant of the British officer, General John Burgoyne, who was defeated by the patriots at the Battle of Saratoga during the Revolution. Benjamin Burgoyne worked for the WPA from 1938-1940 using his carpentry skills to manufacture frames for over 1,138 ...

Cirigliano, Frank (?)Little is known about Frank Cirigliano except that he may have been a member of the Connecticut League of Art and that he lived in Hartford.  In 1941 he painted 6 easels for the WPA art project. Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; Photo Standalone 30, Hartford Courant, February 28, 1932.Works of Art Listed in CT Archives' database from Frank Cirigliano:Twin Sh...

Conlon, James H. P. (1894-1975)James Conlon was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1894. He studied at the Connecticut Art Students’ League, and one of his teachers was Charles Noel Flagg, one of the most influential Connecticut artists of his generation. Conlon also studied at the Art Students’ League of New York. During the First World War he served with the Army Air Corps, prod...

Corda, Mariano (?)Little is known about Mariano Corda except that he lived in New Haven, Connecticut when he worked for the WPA from 1938-1939. Corda was known for his woodcarving. He shared a studio on Chapel Street in New Haven with Michele Martino. The two of them worked on the mahogany relief of John Charles McCarty, a deceased superintendent of schools. (See photographs fo...

DeCarlo, Victor (1916-1973)Little is known about Victor DeCarlo. He was a National Youth Administration Student who came to work for the WPA in 1938-1940. He was a painter and a member of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club. DeCarlo painted four easel works for the WPA. Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; AskART; WPA Federal Arts Project Newsletter (ND).Works of Art Listed in CT Arc...

Austin, Wendell Philip (1896-1966)Wendell Austin was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1896 and educated in the public schools. He attended the Yale School of Fine Arts and in 1917 was an honor graduate. Just when he was about to receive the prestigious Prix-de-Rome, his ROTC was mobilized and sent to France. He spent the next two years on the Western Front and was a victim of ...

Vincent (1898-1951) and Girard [Gerard] (1895-1962) RossiVincent and Girard Rossi were born to Pasquale and Margaret Famiigletti Rossi, the former in 1891 and the latter in 1895. Their father came to the United States in the 1920’s. He was a “well known barber in Waterbury” for 15 years and then moved to Thomaston, living there for twenty eight years. For 25 of the 28 years, he...

 Albert, Ernest Maxwell (1890-1955)Ernest Maxwell Albert was born in Chicago, Illinois as the son of Ernest Albert (1857-1946). The elder achieved distinction for designing color schemes for the interiors of buildings at the 1895 Chicago World’s Fair. He worked as a set designer for the Chicago Opera House and then moved his family to New York. There he became the top Broadway ...