Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Subsequent visual art programs administered by the Treasury Department were the Section of Painting and Sculpture and the Treasury Relief Art Project, both of which employed artists to decorate federal buildings throughout the U.S. History The vision and advocacy of artists George Biddle and Edward Bruce are credited for the creation and management of the New Deal art programs of the United States Department of the Treasury. On May 9, 1933, Biddle wrote a letter to newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposing that the U.S. government designate funds for murals in federal buildings "to improve the quality of American life". Roosevelt arranged for him to meet with L. W. Robert Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, who was responsible for the federal building construction program. At their June meeting, Biddle learned that funds had been approved to decorate the new Department of Justice and Post Office buildings in Washington, D.C., but that Congress was reluctant to have the appropriated funds spent on art. Biddle sent a proposal to a number of government officials, as well as Eleanor Roosevelt, who shared it with FDR. They both approved of the concept, as did Robert and architect Charles Louis Borie Jr., who designed the Justice building. The proposal's greatest advocate was Ned Bruce, an artist as well as an expert on monetary policy who had joined the Treasury Department in 1932. In October 1933, Bruce had a series of gatherings at his home to discuss the possibility of government support for the visual arts. When the funding source was indentified as the sticking point, Biddle and Bruce met with Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, who administered the Public Works Administration. Ickes supported the art program that was proposed, and believed it could be funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, led by Harry L. Hopkins. Recognizing the value of a work-relief program for workers in the visual arts, Hopkins allocated $1 million in FERA funds to the program. On December 11, 1933, the Public Works of Art Project was approved and announced. "The project is expected to encourage and inspire artists to depict a permanent record of the times," reported The Washington Star. The program operated under the general supervision of Robert, advised by the Advisory Committee to the Treasury on Fine Arts. This group was made up of Charles Moore, chair