The WPA & the Golden Age · See America / Cities & States
See America
Alexander Dux · U.S. Travel Bureau, 1937
What it is
Alexander Dux made this for the WPA's New York City Federal Art Project.
Why it matters
The Library of Congress dates it only to a range, between 1936 and 1939, so the circa 1937 in the filename is an approximation. Two visitors stand inside a cavern, rendered small enough that the rock formations read as enormous, a scale trick the poster leans on entirely. It was issued through the U.S. Travel Bureau.
What to notice
Two tiny figures dwarfed by a cavern's throat, scale doing all the advertising work.
Made by artists on the public payroll — art the country already owned.
Provenance
- School
- WPA — Federal Art Project (United States)
- Designer
- Alexander Dux
- Printer / house
- Works Progress Administration, New York City Federal Art Project
- Format
- Travel poster
- Poster published
- U.S. Travel Bureau, 1937
- Source
- United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division · cph.3g04243
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. government program work (WPA Federal Art Project), any year. Gated by the poster’s own publication year. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-18.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 18x24" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
