Thanks to our new fiscal sponsorship from Fractured Atlas, you can help us document and celebrate lost posters of the WPA made 90 years ago with a tax-deductible donation.
Posters for the People: Art of the WPA is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Posters for the People: Art of the WPA must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
 Found in Ennis Carter’s Collection | Help Us Find Lost WPA Posters This year marks the 90th anniversary of the WPA Poster Division — one of America's most innovative public art programs under the Federal Art Project. Between 1936-1943, hundreds of unemployed artists hired under President Roosevelt's New Deal created 35,000 hand-printed WPA posters—beautiful, silkscreened works meant to inspire hope during the Great Depression. These posters were not preserved as the art that they are; the government kept no central record. Most were discarded or lost to time. |
We're bringing them back
Founded in 2002 as a project of Social Impact Studios, Posters for the People has built the world's most comprehensive virtual archive of WPA posters. We've documented 2,292 designs—almost tripling what the government considered the official record. But our work is far from done.
Founded in 2002 as a project of Social Impact Studios, Posters for the People has built the world's most comprehensive virtual archive of WPA posters. We've documented 2,292 designs—almost tripling what the government considered the official record. But our work is far from done.
Our research footprint: The map above shows our progress—blue pins mark 70+ potential repositories we're investigating, and purple pins show 12 places where we've already uncovered forgotten posters. Click it to interact with it. Your donation will help fund these research trips to all 18 former WPA Poster Division cities.
 Originally Found in Sid & Scott Brion’s Collection We don't collect posters—we preserve the public record so future generations can see how Americans imagined recovery and progress during one of history's toughest times. | Where your donation goes: ✓ Protect our traveling exhibit with archival-quality storage ✓ Digitize and archive Christopher DeNoon's pioneering research bequeathed to us ✓ Upgrade our digital archive—we've outgrown our current platform ✓ Fund research trips to the 18 cities that housed WPA Poster Division offices ✓ Clean and organize the data we've collected ✓ Bring the story to communities through DIY screenprinting workshops, educational talks, and the New Deal Film Festival |
Want to donate by check?
Please make checks payable to “Fractured Atlas” and put “Posters for the People” in the memo of the check, then mail to:
Posters for the People: Art of the WPA
c/o Social Impact Studios
725 Bainbridge Street
1st Floor, Suite E
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Posters for the People: Art of the WPA is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Posters for the People: Art of the WPA must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Please make checks payable to “Fractured Atlas” and put “Posters for the People” in the memo of the check, then mail to:
Posters for the People: Art of the WPA
c/o Social Impact Studios
725 Bainbridge Street
1st Floor, Suite E
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Posters for the People: Art of the WPA is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Posters for the People: Art of the WPA must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Found at The Art Institute of Chicago
P.S. Check out Ennis’ Favorite 90 WPA poster countdown in honor of their 90th anniversary in 2026! She’s shared #54 so far — follow along on the channels below, then support us to help us find more.
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