The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal work-relief program that employed professional artists to create sculptures, paintings, crafts and design for public buildings and parks during the Great Depression in the United States. The program operated from December 8, 1933, to May 20, 1934, administered by Edward Bruce under the United States Treasury Department, with funding from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

Although the program lasted less than one year, it had employed 3,749 artists, who produced 15,663 works of art. In an art exhibition that featured 451 paintings commissioned by the PWAP, 30 percent of the artists featured were in their twenties, and 25 percent were first-generation immigrants. The PWAP served as way to employ artists, while having competent representatives of the profession create work for display work in a public setting. According to one news report at the PWAP show at MoMA, "The artists selected for the program were chosen on the basis of their artistic qualifications and their need of employment. The subject assigned to them was the American scene in all its phases."

The purpose of the Public Works of Art Project was "to give work to artists by arranging to have competent representatives of the profession embellish public buildings." Artworks from the project were shown or incorporated into a variety of locations, including the White House and the House of Representatives. Artists were paid an average of $75.59 per artwork, and the PWAP used a total of $1,184,400 to pay artists for their work. Participants were required to be professional artists, and in total, 3,749 artists were hired, and 15,663 works were produced: 7,000 easel paintings; 700 mural projects; 750 sculptures; and 2500 works of graphic art were commissioned by the PWAP.

The PWAP sought to produce images focused on the "American Scene", and commissioned paintings and murals that depicted "optimistic visions of America during a time of economic desperation." However, many artists disliked the idea of creating art that focused only on the positive aspects of living in America, as people were still experiencing dire hardships and personal tragedies from the Great Depression. This created a community of PWAP artists who aspired to create artworks depicting both the "haves" and "have nots" of America, referred to as Social Realists.

The short-lived Public Works of Art Project was a prototype for later federal art programs, including the Federal 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.

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 identified 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 of the Fine Arts Commission; Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rexford Tugwell; Henry Hopkins; Henry T. Hunt of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration of Public Works; Frederic A. Delano, director of the National Capital Planning Commission, who chaired the committee; and Bruce, who was secretary. Art critic and writer Forbes Watson (1879–1960) served as the project's technical director.

PWAP was organized into 16 regional districts headed by the following administrators: