Running an Art Center
Under the auspices of the FAP, the Roswell Museum Federal Art Center opened to the public on October 6, 1937. At the time of its opening, the interior remained unfinished, but the Museum had wanted to accommodate visitors attending the annual New Mexico State Fair, Roswell’s most well-attended cultural event. The official dedication would happen in December.
In many ways, Roswell was an ideal site for the Community Art Center project. Founded in the nineteenth century, Roswell was an agricultural center, with ranching being one of its largest industries during the 1930s. It was the second largest city in New Mexico, with a population of 12,500 in 1938, but it remained relatively isolated, with Santa Fe and Albuquerque being 200 miles away. Unlike other New Mexico communities such as Taos, moreover, its artistic scene did not develop until later in the twentieth century, during the 1960s and 1970s. What it did have, however, was a small, dedicated circle of cultured individuals who were willing to put in the effort to establish a museum or similar institution.
A multipurpose building, the original museum included a main gallery with a performance stage, a smaller gallery dedicated primarily to archaeological materials, and a ladies’ lounge. The main gallery hosted traveling exhibitions, while the archaeological room highlighted materials from local digs, area collections, and the A&H Society. Among the highlights of the Roswell Museum’s WPA collection is its furniture, which includes desks, chairs, and benches. The furniture consisted of both hardwood and upholstered pieces, though the latter are presently not part of the collection. These pieces were built specifically for the Museum by Domingo Tejada (1903-1993), a wood carver from Taos, and participants in the National Youth Administration, a New Deal agency that focused on providing life skills to young Americans.
The staff at the Roswell Museum was small in scale, with an average of 3-4 people working at any given time. Prospective employees became certified through the WPA, and assigned positions based on skill level or experience. Available positions at the Roswell Museum included custodian, gallery attendant, secretary, and director, with volunteers assisting with daily tasks. Directors oversaw all the Museum’s operations, and reported to Russell Vernon Hunter (1900-1955), the State Director for the FAP in New Mexico.
Blurb about paperwork with this table as an example.
