Georgette Seabrooke Powell: I think I as a master artist I got 27 dollars a week or something. Salaries were very, very low.
Howard Dodson: The artists were not accustomed to being funded period, so the WPA thing turns out to be a bit of gravy.
Georgette Seabrooke Powell: I managed to be on the payroll three days a week for over three years, I think it was. People unfortunately had to think in terms of how long will I be able to work on this project? I might receive a pink slip next week when they decide they don't have enough money to keep me on. And you see, it was that kind of an ending for most of the murals.
It really became the kind of thing that you said, how can I live if I don't have the income? And unfortunately after we finished the mural and Louis worked elsewhere, I got a call one day, and this person said, "Do you know, do you know what happened to Louis?" And I said, "What?" He was found dead in the river, he had committed suicide. So there was so much tragedy out of this as well, as you know, good fortune of having a job. Those jobs meant that much to so many people.