WPA

abbreviation

1. Work Projects Administration: the former federal agency (1935–43) charged with instituting and administering public works in order to relieve national unemployment.

WPA

abbreviation

1. Work Projects Administration or Works Progress Administration

Word History and Origins

Origin of WPA¹

First recorded in 1935

Example Sentences

Decades of archival sleuthing, gallery auctions, junk store reconnaissance and negotiations with private collectors have culminated in Leen’s new book, “Ranger of the Lost Art: Rediscovering the WPA Poster Art of Our National Parks.”

Read more on Seattle Times

At the Nickerson Street warehouse where he runs Ranger Doug’s Enterprises, which sells reproductions of WPA poster art and prints of new designs in the WPA style, Leen will sign books at the warehouse on Nov. 4 and at Secret Garden Books in Ballard on Nov. 5.

Read more on Seattle Times

In 2014, the Department of the Interior Museum mounted an exhibit of the known WPA posters and the new designs by Leen and Maebius.

Read more on Seattle Times

“The WPA posters have a unique, recognizable look. It’s something that parks today are excited about being a part of, even if it’s not part of the original series.”

Read more on Seattle Times

In 1934, the National Park Service authorized a poster program in collaboration with the WPA’s Federal Art Project, which put unemployed artists to work as part of the New Deal.

Read more on Seattle Times