Seven etchings included in the Birmingham Museum of Art's 2018 exhibition, "MAGIC CITY REALISM: Richard Coe's Birmingham," have been added to the DAC Foundation Permanent Collection. This exhibition was part of the state-wide celebration of Alabama's bicentennial, ALABAMA 200, and was accompanied by a printed catalog of the same title.
Following the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression of 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt implemented a series of New Deal programs designed to speed economic growth and recovery. In the wake of these historic events, Coe arrived in Birmingham in 1934. Working from his Five Points South art studio, he illustrated scenes, including the ones shown, that represented the local impact of Roosevelt's initiatives.
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Birmingham Street with Sloss Furnaces, etching, 1935, 8 x 8.5 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0001
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Birmingham Southern College, etching, 1935, 6.75 x 7.25 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0002
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Corner Store with Nehi Sign, etching, 1935, 5 x 7.75 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0003
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Buzzard Roost, etching, 1935, 6 x 5 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0004
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Downtown Birmingham, etching, 1935, 6.75 x 9 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0005
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Woman Walking Down an Alley, etching, 1935, 6 x 5 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0006
Richard Blauvelt Coe | Birmingham Terminal Station Tracks, etching, 1935, 6.75 x 9 inches | DAC Foundation Collection, RBC-2024.AW.0007