American artists during the Great Depression produced a body of artwork that told the story of the era. Their paintings, capturing harsh realities and, often, the resiliency of the American spirit, has a certain resonance in the current economic climate.

Genre scenes depicting life in gritty cities, people laboring in factories, immigrant overcrowding, and struggles on the farmland were prevalent. At the same time, sweeping landscapes and images of people at leisure, engaged in activities from baseball to boating, also provide a compelling snapshot of 1930s America.

A traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., opening Sept. 18 at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, brings together 55 paintings created in the Depression era.

These works represent artists who were paid through the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), part of President Franklin Roosevelt's economic recovery program known as the New Deal.

In 1933, 25% of the American workforce was unemployed and many people went hungry. Between December 1933 and June 1934, the government supported 3,750 professional artists, paying them about $1.3 million altogether, for 15,600 pieces of art.

The PWAP project left a lasting legacy of art in public buildings, boosted spirits, and helped develop an "American Scene" style.

Click here to view a slideshow from the Bellingham Herald of New Deal art in the exhibition.