Ranger Naturalist Service WPA Poster
Vintage Poster Collection
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Vintage Poster Collection digitally restored and redesigned by local artist, Andrea McDowell.
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Posters are standard size (20 x 28in) and printed on linen paper for a vintage look and feel.
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Printed in the USA by a 3rd generation family print shop
Ranger Naturalist Service WPA Poster:
This poster is one of the iconic “WPA Posters” produced between 1936 and 1943 by various branches of the Works Progress Administration. In response to The Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised to address the problems being faced across the country by pledging “A new deal for the American people.” After he was inaugurated into office in March 1933, New Deal reforms began bringing economic relief to a variety of industries including agricultural, industrial, finance, and housing. Several programs and agencies were created including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civil Works Administration (CWA), Farm Security Administration (FSA), National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), Social Security Administration (SSA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Throughout the span of its existence, the WPA provided nearly 8.5 million people with jobs, including thousands of jobs for artists, musicians, actors, and writers through Federal Project Number One. The Federal Art Project produced around 2000 posters promoting health and educational programs, community activities, theatrical productions, as we; as state and National Park tourism. Designed to entertain, motivate, and inspire hope within the population, the posters and murals created through the Federal Art Project helped shine a light during a time of economic hardship.
Original Artist: Don Chester Powell, c.1938
Original Medium: Print (poster): screen print, color.
Andrew McDowell
Yellowstone Love Song
Andrea McDowell is a local artist living in Gardiner, MT.
"Upon stepping foot into Yellowstone, I became filled with the same wonder and excitement that has captivated the hearts of millions before me. The surreal landscape and vivid colors set against a backdrop of primal calls from wolves, elk, bear, and bison gives a shock to the system that never fades. I feel especially influenced by those early artists and explorers whose courage to traverse and passion to preserve this landscape paved the way for our own opportunity to experience its grandeur. My inspiration draws from Life’s invitation to explore both the known and untouched regions of this land, and it’s my honor to keep the legacy of early Yellowstone adventurers alive in my artistic practice as well by uncovering historical maps and works of art, restoring them to their original beauty, reimagining them to fit the scale of a modern day art print, and presenting them on a fine linen paper to preserve the vintage quality of these works."
