February 22nd – June 2nd
This exhibition features works by Northwest WPA artist Richard V. Correll (1904-1990) recently donated to the museum from his estate.
One of the Northwest’s most accomplished printmakers, Correll’s first published works were woodblock print political cartoons published in the New Masses in the mid 1930’s as well as Washington State’s Labor Calendar. Beginning in 1937 he participated in the Washington State WPA as a printmaker and muralist. He was well known for his Paul Bunyan imagery through a series of prints as well as the murals he designed and painted for the Arlington, WA High School.
His career blossomed during his Seattle years where he had several solo regional exhibitions and participated in numerous national group exhibitions. In 1939 his blockprint, “Paul Bunyan Making Puget Sound” was exhibited at the New York World’s Fair.
In 1941, Correll and his wife moved to New York where they remained for the next eleven years. As America entered World War II, Correll joined the Civilian Defense Corps as an Air Raid Warden in Greenwich Village. He also created artwork for Civil Defense producing dozens of pro bono flyers, banners, signs, and posters for various causes.
After joining the Artists League of America (ALA), an organization of progressive artists devoted to the social, cultural and economic interest of artists, he served as Publication Chair of the ALA News from 1943 and became Editor in 1946. Other members of the ALA included Jacob Lawrence and Rockwell Kent. His linocut “Air Raid Wardens”, featured in our exhibition, was included in the Artists For Victory exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and travelled to 26 other venues afterward. In 1952, Correll and his family moved to San Francisco where he died in Oakland in 1990.
Image Credits:
- Richard V. Correll (1904-1990), Dwellings of the Jobless #2, 1939. Linocut. Cascadia Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Richard V. Correll, 2022.8.12.a,b
- Richard V. Correll (1904-1990), Air Raid Wardens, 1943. Linocut. Cascadia Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Richard V. Correll, 2022.8.3.a,b
- Richard V. Correll (1904-1990), PAUL BUNYAN Series: The Creation of San Juan Islands, 1937-1939. Linocut. Cascadia Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Richard V. Correll, 2022.8.30.a,b