Pre-WPA programs, 1933-1937, undated

The relief agencies and programs documented here are those that began prior to the Works Progress Administration. These are the Civil Works Administration (CWA), Local Works Division (LWD), Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, National Youth Administration (NYA), U.S. Treasury Department, the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and the State Art Project. While the first three entities provided programs in which the museum participated directly, the others were initiatives in which Kimball served on an advisory level.

Created in November of 1933, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided the museum with its earliest relief programs. Those projects were continued through the Local Works Division (LWD), the program through which the state and federal emergency relief boards operated. The museum projects most fully documented in the CWA/LWD files involved the registrar and library. A few items in the general correspondence file reference the hiring of guards, and one report outlines renovations at the museum's original site, Memorial Hall.

Although the museum did not participate directly in the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), Kimball was very involved, serving as Chairman of the Third Regional District. The purpose of the PWAP, which was set up through the CWA, was to employ artists to create murals and sculpture and other art to embellish public buildings. Correspondents include Mary Curran, who operated the local office, and various personnel from the Treasury Department, including the American painter Edward Bruce, who served on the advisory committee. There is also significant correspondence with local artists seeking work. Material filed as "Post-PWAP artist relief programs" documents projects continuing the work of the PWAP, namely the State Art Project. Other later relief initiatives documented are the Treasury Department art projects and an emergency education program.