Rural Electrification Administration, Running Water 

Date: 1937
Format: Poster
Credits: Lester Beall

From 1936 to 1943, an unprecedented program sponsored by the U.S. government brought graphic design into a new relationship with the public. The Works Project Administration (WPA), established by President F.D. Roosevelt, “One of Roosevelt’s key infrastructure plans was to bring electricity to agrarian areas by establishing the Rural Electrification Administration, which lent funds to electric cooperatives run by local farming communities. Beall was commissioned to create three sets of posters advertising the agency. This is one of six posters from the first set. The simple but highly effective designs announce their modernity in a similar manner as streamlined industrial design. The posters also evoke American identity in their color palette and rural subject matter.”https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/887987