Boardwalk and Beach
ca. 1939
Medium
Opaque paint, watercolor, and pen and black ink over graphite on paper
Dimensions
15 in. × 18 1/8 in. (38.1 × 46 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Pennsylvania W. P. A., 1943
Accession Number
43.46.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Boardwalk and Beach," created around 1939 by Esther Garber, captures a lively American coastal scene during the late years of the Great Depression. As a work produced under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), it reflects the federal program's mission to employ artists in documenting everyday life and boosting public morale through accessible art. The piece entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection in 1943 as a gift from the Pennsylvania WPA, underscoring its role in preserving a visual record of the era. Garber employed a rich mixed-media approach—combining opaque paint, water...