The Community Art Center Project
The Community Art Center Project developed out of the New Deal, a group of federal projects, programs and reforms intended to ease financial hardships stemming from the Great Depression. Established in 1935 and supervised by the Federal Art Project (FAP), the Community Art Center Project endeavored to provide rural and other underserved communities with the type of art access readily available in metropolitan areas, offering free exhibitions, art classes, and special programs. Unlike museums or commercial galleries, art centers were not collections-based institutions, serving instead as touring venues and activity spaces. Most of these centers were concentrated in the American South and Southwest, with four different centers operating in New Mexico alone. To open an art center, a civic group such as a historical society or local government submitted an application demonstrating sufficient communal interest and financial funding. Approved applications received staffing and equipment from the FAP. While some centers such as the Roswell Museum were provided with new buildings, most operated out of empty shops and other vacant structures already available within the community.
The Roswell Museum developed through a collaboration between the Federal Art Project and the Chaves County Archaeological and Historical (A&H) Society, now known as the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico. The A&H Society initially developed the idea of creating a museum because it needed a permanent home for its artifact collection, at that time displayed in the public library. In November 1935, the Society met with Roswell’s Mayor, the City Manager, and the State WPA administrator to discuss constructing a museum building. Frank M. Standhardt (1913-1978) served as architect, and the WPA provided funds, which the A&H Society augmented through additional fundraising.
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.
The design of the Roswell Museum went through different iterations, with the building ultimately adopting a historicized, Spanish Colonial Revival aesthetic that reflected its focus on New Mexico history while echoing regional movements such as the Pueblo Revival of Santa Fe. As the building neared completion, however, the A&H Society realized that most of the money raised for the project had already been spent on construction, leaving little funding for furnishings or operations. At the suggestion of the State WPA Administrator, the Society offered the building to the FAP as part of its Community Art Center Project. The FAP and the A&H Society shared expenses, with the latter covering the maintenance of the actual building. In December 1938, an auxiliary group known as the Friends of Art was also established to help cover the exhibition costs.
As the building neared completion, however, the A&H Society realized that most of the money raised for the project had already been spent on construction, leaving little funding for furnishings or operations. At the suggestion of the State WPA Administrator, the Society offered the building to the FAP as part of its Community Art Center Project. The FAP and the A&H Society shared expenses, with the latter covering the maintenance of the actual building. In December 1938, an auxiliary group known as the Friends of Art was also established to help cover the exhibition costs.
