remarkable american depression era polychrome enameled hand carved wood steam engine or locomotive with largely intact painted finish. the fire-tube boiler features a long directional red arrow with three short chimney domes along the top. the engine cab and tender contain the engine number and abbreviation for new york city painted in white. the w.p.a. folk art art piece measures 34 x 8 x 6 inches. allover crazing consistent with age. very bold and striking design. with the establishment of the wpa in 1935, the federal art project (fap) began as a part of federal one with holger cahill as its director. by march of 1936, regional field offices were established throughout the country employing as many as 6,000 people. fifty percent of the fap workers were directly engaged in creating works of art, while 10 to 25 percent worked in art education; the rest worked in art research. by 1938, 42,000 easel paintings and 1,100 murals in public buildings were commissioned. large numbers of sculptures, silk-screen prints, posters, and other graphic works were also made, and the fap frequently worked in cooperation with the federal writers project to design covers and illustrations for its publications. one of the faps major activities, the index of american design helped popularize american folk art by documenting the countrys usable past in a project that produced 20,000 photographic records of american art, painting, sculpture, handicraft, and folk art. art education was promoted through the establishment of hundreds of community art centers that served tens of thousands and sponsored hundreds of individual and group exhibitions. many of the art centers are still functioning today. the federal art project was so popular with communities that it had no trouble in securing the 25 percent local funding required by the reorganization act of 1939. in fact, until it was dissolved in 1943 it continued to produce world war ii armed services posters and propaganda art. measures 35 x 6 x 8 inches.