Ethel Parsons Sites

Albany, New York's historic James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds as the city's main post office, courthouse, and custom house. "The architects completed their plans in 1931 and the following year, the government awarded the construction contract to Kenny Brothers, Inc., of New York City. Prominent officials and the public gathered for a cornerstone-laying ceremony on August 18, 1933, and construction was completed in 1934. The building had an exterior bridge connecting the nearby rail station with the post office, which occupied the entire first two floors." (gsa.gov)

This series of murals painted by Ethel Parsons hangs in the James T. Foley Courthouse, originally the Albany Post Office, in Albany, New York. From the General Services Administration entry on the courthouse: "Marble pilasters divide the main lobby into nine bays, each articulated with a ceiling mural. Artist Ethel M. Parsons painted the oil-on-canvas murals in 1935, depicting each of the seven continents as well as the North Pole and the United States. Interspersed with the murals are plaster plaques by Italian artist Enea Biafora Portraying famous Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, as portrayed on...