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Lower Colorado Basin Region

Lower Colorado Basin Region

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California-Great Basin Region

California-Great Basin Region

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Fletcher Martin: Grand Coulee Spillway

Fletcher Martin: Grand Coulee Spillway
1970
Norman Rockwell: Glen Canyon Dam

Norman Rockwell: Glen Canyon Dam
1969
Dean Fausett: Warheap Marina

Dean Fausett: Warheap Marina
1969
Joseph Hirsch: Construction at Soldier Creek #2

Joseph Hirsch: Construction at Soldier Creek #2
1972

Reclamation Art Collection

American Artists and Water Reclamation

Fine Art Collection
of the Bureau of Reclamation
In the late 1960s, the Bureau of Reclamation embarked on a program to present its accomplishments to the public through the medium of art. Under the direction of John DeWitt of the Commissioner's Office in Washington D.C., and Dr. Lloyd Goodrich, advisory director of the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York City, forty prominent United States artists were commissioned to visit Reclamation's water resource development sites throughout the western United States and record their impressions through various medias. The artists were given a free hand to depict a subject of their choosing, as long as their artworks pertained to a Reclamation program - the development of the West's water resources for irrigation, hydropower generation, recreation, water conservation, and fish and wildlife enhancement. The artists employed their choice of media and artistic techniques, resulting in a spectacular variety artworks ranging from the abstract depiction of irrigated fields along the lower Colorado River as seen by Richard Diebenkorn, to Norman Rockwell's portrait of a Native American family overlooking Glen Canyon Dam, to Anton Refregier's scenes of construction activities at Grand Coulee Dam.

When the project was completed, more than 375 pieces of art had been created. In the early 1970s, many of the pieces were displayed to the public in a traveling exhibit circulated by the Smithsonian Institution entitled "The American Artist and Water Reclamation." Although many of the pieces were returned to the artists, Reclamation maintains a collection of over 200 artworks.

In 2021-2022, the artwork was scanned and digitized for an online art exhibition, to ensure future generations would have the opportunity to view the collection, a representation of the American West in the 20th Century, as well as an intersection of engineering and art to showcase the transformative history of Reclamation in the West.
Special Feature & Recent Digitization
Norman Rockwell's Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam
History and Digitization of Norman Rockwell's famous Reclamation artwork
On October 23rd, 2024, Reclamation Museum Curator, Lauren McCaulou travelled to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA to oversee the digitization of Glen Canyon Dam. The digitization of this work is one of the final digitizations of the Reclamation Art Collection as a part of a greater effort to exhibit the art for the American public.

American artist, Norman Rockwell, was commissioned to interpret “Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona in whatever style and medium the artist deems appropriate.” (Purchase Order for Norman Rockwell, 1969) for the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Norman Rockwell rose to prominence as an illustrator for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, a position he began at age 22 in 1916. For decades, his paintings and illustrations represented life in the United States through social events and the interactions of people.

Throughout Norman Rockwell’s career, many art critics considered him a lesser artist, merely an illustrator. The opinions of art critics did not dimmish his public reputation, he was still a well-recognized and cherished artist in the eyes of the public. With hundreds of recognizable Saturday Evening Post covers and clear storytelling in all his works, he became an American household name.

In June 1969, John DeWitt, Director of the Reclamation Art Program, approached Rockwell to participate in the project. A few months later in October, Rockwell and his wife, Molly, traveled to Northern Arizona to study, photograph, and draw inspiration from the Reclamation site. At the time, public affairs officer, W. L. “Bud” Rusho, accompanied the Rockwells and DeWitt on the tour. In an oral history from Rusho recorded in the 1990s, he recounts the events and creation of Norman Rockwell’s Glen Canyon Dam. Norman Rockwell specialized in storytelling through his composition of people, the image of a dam was purely mechanical. Rusho paraphrased Rockwell, who is said to have commented, “Where’s some human interest?”

The Navajo/Diné family portrayed in the painting is of John Lane and his family. Rusho said that they drove up to the hogan to talk with the family, who was uninterested in participating. However, once Rusho mentioned they were seeking models for Norman Rockwell, recognition of the artist’s name sparked John’s interest, and the family agreed to pose for reference photos taken by Molly Rockwell.

Norman Rockwell’s Glen Canyon Dam is the most well-known piece from the Reclamation Art Collection and may be viewed at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.
View Reclamation Art by Region
Bureau of Reclamation
Official Government Website
Follow link to the Bureau of Reclamation Museum Property landing page on usbr.gov