This is a list of United States post office murals, produced in the United States from 1934 to 1943 through commissions from the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. The principal objective of the United States post office murals was to secure artwork that met high artistic standards for public buildings, where it was accessible to all people. The murals were intended to boost the morale of the American people suffering from the effects of the Depression by depicting uplifting subjects the people knew and loved. Murals produced through the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (1934–1943) were funded as a part of the cost of the construction of new post offices, with 1% of the cost set aside for artistic enhancements. Murals were commissioned through competitions open to all artists in the United States. Almost 850 artists were commissioned to paint 1,371 murals, most of which were installed in post offices; 162 of the artists were women and three were African American. The Treasury Relief Art Project (1935–1938), which provided artistic decoration for existing Federal buildings, produced a smaller number of post office murals. TRAP was established with funds from the Works Progress Administration. The Section supervised the creative output of TRAP, and selected a master artist for each project. Assistants were then chosen by the artist from the rolls of the WPA Federal Art Project.: 62–63
Artists were asked to paint in an "American scene" style, depicting ordinary citizens in a realistic manner. Abstract and modern art styles were discouraged. Artists were also encouraged to produce works that would be appropriate to the communities where they were to be located and to avoid controversial subjects. Projects were closely scrutinized by the Section for style and content, and artists were paid only after each stage in the creative process was approved.
The Section and the Treasury Relief Art Project were overseen by Edward Bruce, who had directed the Public Works of Art Project (1933–1934). They were commission-driven public work programs that employed artists to beautify American government buildings, strictly on the basis of quality.: 58–59 This contrasts with the work-relief mission of the Federal Art Project (1935–1943) of the Works Progress Administration, the largest of the New Deal art projects. So great was its scope and cultural impact that the term "WPA" is often mistakenly used to describe all New Deal art, including the U.S. post office murals.: 63–64 "New Deal artwork" is a more accurate term to describe the works of art created under the federal art programs of that period.
The murals are the subject of efforts by the United States Postal Service to preserve and protect them. This is particularly important and problematical as some of them have disappeared or deteriorated. Some are ensconced in buildings that are worth far less than the artwork.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
A review of murals in Colorado's post offices found there were no frescos, but rather all had been painted on canvas.
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
A number of Kansas post offices were listed on the National Register on basis of their murals, as part of a study of "Kansas Post Offices with Artwork, 1936-1942".
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
A number of Oklahoma post offices were listed on the National Register as part of the " Oklahoma Post Offices with Section Art Multiple Property Submission", including those in Coalgate, Hollis, Madill, Nowata, and Watonga.
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
See also
- Section of Painting and Sculpture
- Treasury Relief Art Project
- United States post office murals
- List of Federal Art Project artists
- List of New Deal murals
- List of post offices in the United States
- List of New Deal sculpture
References
Further reading
- Marling, Karal A. Wall-to-wall America: A Cultural History of Post-Office Murals in the Great Depression. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1982.
- Mecklenburg, Virginia M. The Public As Patron: A History of the Treasury Department Mural Program. College Park: University of Maryland, Dept. of Art, 1979.
- Puschendorf, L. R. Nebraska's Post Office Murals: Born of the Depression, Fostered by the New Deal. Lincoln, NE: Nebraska State Historical Society, 2012.
- Stevens, Robert L. and Jared A. Fogel. "Conflict and Consensus: New Deal Mural Post Office Art", National Social Science Journal, vol. 33, no. 2, 160–165.
External links
- WPAMurals.com Archived 2012-12-05 at archive.today
- New Deal Art Registry
- List of books on post office murals at the National New Deal Preservation Association
